Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the title advantage from his teammate by one point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, beat the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, 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 lucky to avoid just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the quick descending Mergulho corner before the final bend on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th place, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the other competitors, with the German's car third fastest, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was in fourth, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
