Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the past five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the dying seconds of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the title advantage from his teammate by a single point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before sprint qualifying due at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the points battle, lying 36 points behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, though minor, when he rotated at the fourth corner soon after starting.
The Japanese slid over the track edges before sliding over the gravel trap, and was lucky to avoid just a light touch of the wall.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, spinning around through the quick descending Mergulho turn leading to the final corner on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in 19th place, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the rest of the field, with the German's Sauber third fastest, 0.619 seconds off the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
