Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at all of the past five grands prix.
Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the championship lead from his teammate by just one point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before the sprint shootout due at 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, sitting with a 36-point deficit Norris, finished in 17th place as his team ran a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, though minor, when he spun at Turn Four during the early running.
Tsunoda spun out over the track edges before rotating through the escape zone, and was lucky to escape with just a light touch of the fence.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also spun, at the conclusion of the session, spinning around through the quick descending corner before the final bend on to the pit straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in 19th, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.