Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at all of the past five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the points lead from his teammate by just one point after winning in Mexico City two weeks ago, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before sprint qualifying due at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, though minor, when he spun at Turn Four during the early running.
Tsunoda lost control over the curbs on exit before sliding over the run-off area, and was fortunate to escape with just a minor contact of the fence.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the conclusion of the session, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner before the last turn on to the pit straight.
The veteran finished practice in P19, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
