Lando Norris Leads Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at all of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the points lead from his teammate by one point after taking the win in Mexico City a fortnight back, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before sprint qualifying scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the points battle, trailing with a 36-point deficit Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team ran a different programme.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, albeit lightly, when he rotated at Turn Four during the early running.
Tsunoda slid over the exit kerbs before sliding over the gravel trap, and was fortunate to get away with just a minor contact of the fence.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the conclusion of the practice, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner approaching the last turn on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber third fastest, 0.619secs off the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
