Lando Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at all of the past five grands prix.
Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the points lead from his teammate by a single point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Before then, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before the sprint shootout set to begin at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, trailing 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to have an incident, albeit lightly, when he spun at the fourth corner early in the session.
Tsunoda slid over the exit kerbs before sliding over the run-off area, and was blessed to get away with just a light touch of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the conclusion of the session, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner before the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran wrapped up in 19th place, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber in third, 0.619 seconds slower than the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
