Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice

McLaren drivers in action

Lando Norris has beaten his teammate at each of the previous five race weekends.

Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the quickest lap in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The British racer, who seized the points lead from Piastri by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.

Until that point, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.

Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind behind Norris, ended up in 17th place as his team opted for a unique setup.

Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, if briefly, when he rotated at corner four during the early running.

Tsunoda slid over the exit kerbs before spinning across the gravel trap, and was fortunate to escape with just a slight brush of the fence.

The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the conclusion of the session, spinning around through the fast downhill corner before the last turn on to the start-finish straight.

Hamilton wrapped up in 19th, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.

The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber P3, 0.619secs slower than the Australian's time.

The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.

Mr. Kelly Preston
Mr. Kelly Preston

A seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in casino trends and player insights.