Lando Norris Leads Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored his teammate at all of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the title advantage from his teammate by just one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying set to begin at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his team followed a alternative strategy.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to have an incident, albeit lightly, when he rotated at the fourth corner soon after starting.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was blessed to get away with just a light touch of the fence.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the conclusion of the session, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner approaching the final corner on to the main straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in P19, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with the German's car in third, 0.619secs off the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
