Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at all of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris just pipped fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the points lead from Piastri by a single point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, beat the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before the sprint shootout due at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind Norris, finished in P17 as his Red Bull team ran a unique setup.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he rotated at corner four early in the session.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before spinning across the gravel trap, and was fortunate to escape with just a minor contact of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the conclusion of the session, turning around through the quick descending Mergulho corner approaching the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran ended the session in 19th place, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
