Norris Leads Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at all of the past five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the top spot in the dying seconds of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from his teammate by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City a fortnight back, topped the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before the sprint shootout set to begin at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in realistic title contention, sitting 36 points behind behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team followed a unique setup.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, if briefly, when he rotated at the fourth corner during the early running.
The Japanese slid over the curbs on exit before rotating through the escape zone, and was lucky to escape with just a light touch of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the very end of the session, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner before the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, 0.619secs behind the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
