Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at each of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the fastest time in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, topped the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, trailing 36 points behind Norris, was classified in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, albeit lightly, when he rotated at corner four soon after starting.
Tsunoda spun out over the curbs on exit before sliding over the escape zone, and was fortunate to get away with just a minor contact of the wall.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also spun, at the very end of the practice, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn approaching the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with the German's car in third, over half a second slower than the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
