Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at all of the previous five race weekends.
The McLaren driver just pipped fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before the sprint shootout set to begin at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, trailing with a 36-point deficit Norris, was classified in 17th position as his team followed a different programme.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, though minor, when he rotated at Turn Four soon after starting.
The Japanese slid over the track edges before rotating through the gravel trap, and was lucky to escape with just a minor contact of the wall.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the final moments of the practice, spinning 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, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber third fastest, over half a second slower than Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
