Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has outperformed Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the championship lead from Piastri by just one point after his victory in Mexico City a fortnight back, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Before then, Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before the sprint shootout due at 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in realistic title contention, trailing with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team followed a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, though minor, when he spun at the fourth corner soon after starting.
Tsunoda lost control over the track edges before rotating through the run-off area, and was blessed to get away with just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the high-speed corner leading to the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber in third, over half a second slower than Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
