Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the last five race weekends.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the championship lead from his teammate by one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before sprint qualifying scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, sitting with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his Red Bull team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to have an incident, albeit lightly, when he rotated at the fourth corner soon after starting.
The Japanese spun out over the curbs on exit before spinning across the gravel trap, and was fortunate to escape with just a minor contact of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn leading to the final corner on to the pit straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th, trailing teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, over half a second behind the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
