Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at all of the last five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the championship lead from his teammate by just one point after winning in Mexico City a fortnight back, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before the sprint shootout due at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th place as his team opted for a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, though minor, when he lost control at the fourth corner soon after starting.
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 spun, at the very end of the practice, spinning around through the quick descending Mergulho turn approaching the final bend on to the pit straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in P19, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
