Lando Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the past five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the quickest lap in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City a fortnight back, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before sprint qualifying set to begin at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his team ran a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, though minor, when he lost control at the fourth corner early in the session.
The Japanese slid over the track edges before sliding over the gravel trap, and was lucky to avoid just a light touch of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the final moments of the session, rotating twice through the fast downhill corner before the final bend on to the pit straight.
The veteran ended the session in P19, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber in third, over half a second slower than Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
