Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at each of the past five race weekends.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the championship lead from his teammate by just one point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before sprint qualifying due at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, trailing 36 points behind behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, albeit lightly, when he lost control at Turn Four early in the session.
Tsunoda lost control over the track edges before spinning across the gravel trap, and was fortunate to get away with just a light touch of the fence.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho turn leading to the final bend on to the main straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in P19, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with the German's car P3, 0.619secs behind Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
