Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has beaten his teammate at all of the last five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the title advantage from Piastri by one point after his victory in Mexico City two weeks ago, beat the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before sprint qualifying set to begin at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, lying 36 points Norris, was classified in 17th position as his Red Bull team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, albeit lightly, when he spun at Turn Four during the early running.
The Japanese spun out over the curbs on exit before spinning across the run-off area, and was fortunate to escape with just a slight brush of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the conclusion of the session, rotating twice through the quick descending Mergulho corner before the last turn on to the main straight.
The veteran ended the session in 19th, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, over half a second off the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
