Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at all of the last five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from his teammate by one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before sprint qualifying due at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points behind Norris, finished in P17 as his Red Bull team followed a different programme.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, though minor, when he spun at corner four during the early running.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before sliding over 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 lost it, at the final moments of the session, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn before the final bend on to the pit straight.
The veteran ended the session in P19, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
