Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the past five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the fastest time in the dying seconds of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the points lead from Piastri by a single point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before sprint qualifying due at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the championship fight, lying with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, finished in P17 as his team ran a unique setup.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, if briefly, when he spun at Turn Four during the early running.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before rotating through the gravel trap, and was fortunate to escape with just a light touch of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the very end of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill corner before the last turn on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, 0.619secs behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
