Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by 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.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the championship fight, trailing 36 points Norris, ended up in 17th position as his team followed a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to have an incident, albeit lightly, when he rotated at Turn Four soon after starting.
Tsunoda lost control over the exit kerbs before rotating through the gravel trap, and was fortunate to get away with just a light touch of the wall.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, spinning around through the fast downhill corner leading to the final bend on to the pit straight.
Hamilton ended the session in 19th place, just behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the rest of the field, with the German's car third fastest, 0.619secs behind Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
