Lando Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored his teammate at each of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the points lead from his teammate by just one point after his victory in Mexico City recently, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before sprint qualifying scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the points battle, sitting with a 36-point deficit Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team followed a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, albeit lightly, when he lost control at the fourth corner soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the curbs on exit before spinning across the escape zone, and was blessed to escape with just a minor contact of the wall.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner before the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran ended the session in 19th place, trailing teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the remaining drivers, with the German's car third fastest, 0.619secs behind the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
