Lando Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has beaten his teammate at all of the last five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the points lead from his teammate by just one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before the sprint shootout due at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points Norris, ended up in P17 as his Red Bull team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, albeit lightly, when he lost control at the fourth corner early in the session.
Tsunoda spun out over the curbs on exit before rotating through the gravel trap, and was fortunate to escape with just a light touch of the wall.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the very end of the practice, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn before the final corner on to the pit straight.
The veteran ended the session in 19th, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber in third, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
