Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the dying seconds of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the title advantage from Piastri by a single point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, outpaced the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before the sprint shootout due at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in the points battle, trailing 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, albeit lightly, when he spun at the fourth corner soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before rotating through the escape zone, and was fortunate to get away with just a light touch of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the high-speed corner leading to the last turn on to the main straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th place, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber in third, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
