Lando Norris Leads Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the past five grands prix.
The McLaren driver just pipped fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the fastest time in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from Piastri by just one point after taking the win in Mexico City a fortnight back, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before sprint qualifying scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in realistic title contention, trailing with a 36-point deficit Norris, was classified in 17th place as his team followed a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he spun at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before sliding over the gravel trap, and was blessed to get away with just a light touch of the fence.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill corner approaching the last turn on to the main straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th place, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the remaining drivers, with the German's car in third, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
