Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the points lead from his teammate by just one point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, beat the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before sprint qualifying set to begin at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the points battle, trailing with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his Red Bull team ran a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, though minor, when he spun at Turn Four soon after starting.
Tsunoda spun out over the exit kerbs before spinning across the escape zone, and was blessed to get away with just a light touch of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho turn leading to the final corner on to the pit straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in P19, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber P3, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
