Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at all of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before sprint qualifying scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, lying with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, ended up in 17th place as his team ran a unique setup.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to have an incident, though minor, when he lost control at Turn Four soon after starting.
Tsunoda lost control over the curbs on exit before sliding over the gravel trap, and was fortunate to get away with just a slight brush of the wall.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also spun, at the conclusion of the session, rotating twice through the fast downhill corner leading to the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran ended the session in 19th, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber in third, 0.619 seconds slower than the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
