🔗 Share this article Norris Leads Piastri in Brazilian Practice The British driver has outperformed his teammate at each of the past five race weekends. The McLaren driver just pipped team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Norris, who grabbed the title advantage from Piastri by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, outpaced the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs. Before then, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying due at 18:30 GMT. Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, sitting 36 points Norris, finished in 17th position as his team ran a unique setup. His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, though minor, when he rotated at corner four early in the session. Tsunoda slid over the curbs on exit before spinning across the run-off area, and was blessed to avoid just a minor contact of the wall. The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the conclusion of the session, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho turn approaching the last turn on to the pit straight. The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th place, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver. The McLaren pair were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber P3, over half a second behind Piastri's best. The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.