Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at all of the past five race weekends.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the championship lead from Piastri by just one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the points battle, lying 36 points behind behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his team followed a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, albeit lightly, when he spun at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before rotating through the run-off area, and was lucky to get away with just a light touch of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the very end of the practice, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner before the final corner on to the main straight.
The veteran wrapped up in 19th, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with the German's Sauber P3, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
