Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five race weekends.
The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the championship lead from his teammate by one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before the sprint shootout set to begin at 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points behind behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his team followed a unique setup.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, though minor, when he spun at corner four early in the session.
The Japanese spun out over the track edges before sliding over the escape zone, and was fortunate to avoid just a minor contact of the wall.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the final moments of the session, turning around through the high-speed corner approaching the final bend on to the pit straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th place, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with the German's car in third, 0.619secs off Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
