Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at all of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from his teammate by a single point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before sprint qualifying scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his team opted for a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to have an incident, though minor, when he spun at the fourth corner during the early running.
The Japanese spun out over the track edges before rotating through the escape zone, and was fortunate to escape with just a light touch of the fence.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the conclusion of the practice, rotating twice through the quick descending corner before the final bend on to the pit straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th place, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber in third, over half a second behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
