Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at each of the past five grands prix.
Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the championship lead from his teammate by just one point after his victory in Mexico City two weeks ago, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before the sprint shootout scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in realistic title contention, sitting with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, if briefly, when he lost control at corner four during the early running.
Tsunoda lost control over the track edges before sliding over the escape zone, and was blessed to avoid just a minor contact of the fence.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the quick descending corner approaching the final bend on to the pit straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in 19th place, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
