Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the championship lead from Piastri by just one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before the sprint shootout due at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, sitting with a 36-point deficit Norris, ended up in 17th place as his Red Bull team ran a unique setup.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, albeit lightly, when he spun at Turn Four early in the session.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was lucky to escape with just a slight brush of the wall.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho corner leading to the final corner on to the pit straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th place, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, 0.619secs behind the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
