Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by just one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before sprint qualifying due at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his Red Bull team ran a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he lost control at corner four soon after starting.
Tsunoda lost control over the exit kerbs before spinning across the gravel trap, and was blessed to get away with just a slight brush of the wall.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the very end of the session, turning around through the quick descending corner before the final corner on to the pit straight.
The veteran ended the session in 19th place, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, over half a second slower than Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
