Lando Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has outperformed his teammate at each of the past 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.
The British racer, who grabbed the title advantage from his teammate by just one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, topped the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before sprint qualifying set to begin at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, sitting 36 points behind behind Norris, ended up in 17th place as his Red Bull team followed a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he rotated at Turn Four soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before sliding over the gravel trap, and was fortunate to get away with just a light touch of the wall.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill corner leading to the final bend on to the pit straight.
The veteran wrapped up in 19th place, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, 0.619secs behind Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
