Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the last five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the fastest time in the dying seconds of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the title advantage from his teammate by one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, beat the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
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 other racer in realistic title contention, lying 36 points Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team followed a alternative strategy.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to have an incident, albeit lightly, when he spun at the fourth corner early in the session.
Tsunoda lost control over the curbs on exit before sliding over the escape zone, and was blessed to escape with just a minor contact of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the final moments of the session, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn before the last turn on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in P19, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, 0.619secs behind Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
