Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the title advantage from his teammate by one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before the sprint shootout set to begin at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind behind Norris, was classified in 17th place as his team ran a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, though minor, when he spun at corner four during the early running.
The Japanese spun out over the curbs on exit before spinning across the run-off area, and was blessed to get away with just a minor contact of the wall.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the final moments of the session, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho turn before the last turn on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in P19, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the other competitors, with the German's car in third, over half a second behind Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
