🔗 Share this article Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the past five race weekends. The McLaren driver just pipped team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from his teammate by one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s. Until that point, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before the sprint shootout scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT. The Red Bull star, the other racer in the championship fight, trailing with a 36-point deficit Norris, finished in P17 as his team opted for a different programme. Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, albeit lightly, when he spun at the fourth corner soon after starting. The Japanese slid over the track edges before sliding over the gravel trap, and was fortunate to get away with just a slight brush of the fence. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the final moments of the practice, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn leading to the final bend on to the main straight. Hamilton finished practice in 19th place, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver. The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the rest of the field, with the German's Sauber P3, over half a second slower than Piastri's best. The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.