Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at all of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the championship lead from his teammate by a single point after winning in Mexico City two weeks ago, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before the sprint shootout due at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, lying 36 points behind Norris, finished in P17 as his team ran a alternative strategy.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to have an incident, though minor, when he rotated at corner four early in the session.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was lucky to escape with just a light touch of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also spun, at the final moments of the practice, turning around through the high-speed corner leading to the last turn on to the pit straight.
The veteran wrapped up in 19th, just behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the rest of the field, with the German's car third fastest, 0.619secs behind Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.