Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at all of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the dying seconds of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the points lead from Piastri by just one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, albeit lightly, when he spun at corner four during the early running.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before rotating through the escape zone, and was fortunate to avoid just a slight brush of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the conclusion of the session, turning around through the quick descending corner before the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber in third, over half a second slower than Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
