Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at all of the past five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the quickest lap in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the title advantage from Piastri by a single point after winning in Mexico City recently, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before the sprint shootout scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in realistic title contention, lying with a 36-point deficit Norris, ended up in 17th position as his team followed a different programme.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, if briefly, when he spun at corner four during the early running.
The Japanese lost control over the curbs on exit before sliding over the gravel trap, and was blessed to escape with just a light touch of the wall.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the very end of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill corner approaching the final corner on to the main straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in 19th, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with the German's car third fastest, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
