Lando Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has beaten his teammate at each of the past five race weekends.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the fastest time in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the title advantage from his teammate by one point after taking the win in Mexico City a fortnight back, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before the sprint shootout scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the championship fight, trailing with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, albeit lightly, when he spun at the fourth corner early in the session.
The Japanese slid over the track edges before sliding over the gravel trap, and was lucky to get away with just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill corner before the last turn on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th, just behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber third fastest, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
