Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
The British driver has outperformed his teammate at each of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris just pipped fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the points lead from Piastri by one point after winning in Mexico City recently, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before the sprint shootout due at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his team followed a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he spun at corner four soon after starting.
Tsunoda slid 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 Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the conclusion of the session, rotating twice through the fast downhill corner approaching the final bend on to the main straight.
Hamilton finished practice in 19th place, just behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber P3, over half a second behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
