Norris Leads Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the past five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the points lead from Piastri by one point after his victory in Mexico City a fortnight back, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in realistic title contention, sitting 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th place as his Red Bull team ran a alternative strategy.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to have an incident, albeit lightly, when he lost control at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was lucky to get away with just a minor contact of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the very end of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho corner before the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in P19, just behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber in third, 0.619secs behind the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
