Lando Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at all of the past five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the dying seconds of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the title advantage from Piastri by just one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before the sprint shootout due at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the points battle, trailing with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, ended up in 17th place as his team opted for a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, albeit lightly, when he spun at Turn Four early in the session.
Tsunoda lost control over the track edges before sliding over the run-off area, and was blessed to avoid just a light touch of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the conclusion of the session, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho turn before the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in P19, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the other competitors, with the German's car P3, 0.619 seconds behind the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
