Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the past five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the championship lead from his teammate by just one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, outpaced the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before sprint qualifying due at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the points battle, trailing 36 points behind behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his team ran a alternative strategy.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to have an incident, though minor, when he spun at corner four early in the session.
Tsunoda lost control over the track edges before sliding over the escape zone, and was fortunate to get away with just a light touch of the wall.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the quick descending Mergulho turn leading to the last turn on to the pit straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th place, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber in third, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
