Lando Norris Leads Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outscored his teammate at each of the past five race weekends.
The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the points lead from his teammate by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City a fortnight back, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before sprint qualifying scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he rotated at the fourth corner during the early running.
The Japanese slid over the curbs on exit before rotating through the run-off area, and was lucky to get away with just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the very end of the practice, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho turn approaching the last turn on to the main straight.
The veteran ended the session in P19, just behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the rest of the field, with the German's car third fastest, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
