11 Sep 2026
Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has outperformed his teammate at all of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the championship lead from his teammate by a single point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before sprint qualifying scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the championship fight, trailing 36 points Norris, finished in 17th position as his Red Bull team ran a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to have an incident, though minor, when he rotated at corner four early in the session.
Tsunoda lost control over the exit kerbs before spinning across the gravel trap, and was blessed to get away with just a slight brush of the fence.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the conclusion of the session, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho turn approaching the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
Hamilton ended the session in 19th, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber P3, over half a second off Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.