Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outscored his teammate at each of the last five grands prix.
Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the dying seconds of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the title advantage from Piastri by one point after his victory in Mexico City a fortnight back, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before sprint qualifying due at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, though minor, when he lost control at the fourth corner early in the session.
The Japanese slid over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was blessed to escape with just a slight brush of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the conclusion of the session, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn before the final corner on to the pit straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in P19, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
