Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at all of the last five grands prix.
Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the points lead from Piastri by a single point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before sprint qualifying due at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the points battle, sitting 36 points behind behind Norris, finished in P17 as his team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, though minor, when he spun at the fourth corner during the early running.
The Japanese slid over the track edges before spinning across the escape zone, and was fortunate to escape with just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn approaching the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran ended the session in 19th place, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, over half a second behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
