Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has outperformed Oscar Piastri at all of the last five race weekends.
The McLaren driver just pipped fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the title advantage from his teammate by one point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, outpaced the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before sprint qualifying scheduled for the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th place as his team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, if briefly, when he rotated at the fourth corner early in the session.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before sliding over the gravel trap, and was lucky to get away with just a slight brush of the fence.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the conclusion of the session, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho turn before the final corner on to the pit straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in 19th, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber P3, 0.619secs off Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
