Lando Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at all of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the quickest lap in the dying seconds of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by just one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, outpaced the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before the sprint shootout due at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, lying 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to have an incident, though minor, when he lost control at the fourth corner during the early running.
The Japanese lost control over the track edges before sliding over the run-off area, and was fortunate to avoid just a light touch of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the quick descending Mergulho turn leading to the final bend on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in P19, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber P3, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
