Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at each of the past five grands prix.
The McLaren driver just pipped team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the fastest time in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the championship lead from his teammate by just one point after his victory in Mexico City two weeks ago, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before the sprint shootout scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the points battle, sitting 36 points behind behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his team ran a alternative strategy.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he lost control at the fourth corner early in the session.
The Japanese slid over the curbs on exit before spinning across the gravel trap, and was lucky to avoid just a minor contact of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner before the last turn on to the main straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in 19th, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, over half a second slower than Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
