Norris Leads Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outscored his teammate at each of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris just pipped fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the championship lead from his teammate by a single point after winning in Mexico City two weeks ago, outpaced the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying set to begin at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his team ran a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, though minor, when he spun at corner four early in the session.
Tsunoda lost control over the exit kerbs before sliding over the escape zone, and was lucky to escape with just a light touch of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the conclusion of the session, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner leading to the last turn on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber in third, 0.619 seconds slower than the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
