Lando Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at all of the last five race weekends.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the title advantage from Piastri by just one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his Red Bull team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to have an incident, though minor, when he spun at the fourth corner during the early running.
The Japanese slid over the curbs on exit before spinning across the escape zone, and was fortunate to get away with just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner before the last turn on to the pit straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th place, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber in third, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
