Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at all of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris just pipped fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the dying seconds of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the points lead from his teammate by a single 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 quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before the sprint shootout due at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, sitting with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, ended up in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a different programme.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, albeit lightly, when he rotated at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese slid over the exit kerbs before sliding over the escape zone, and was fortunate to avoid just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn leading to the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran ended the session in P19, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber in third, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
