Sao Paulo: The British driver, who reclaimed the championship lead in Mexico, now holds a narrow one-point advantage over his Australian teammate with just four rounds remaining, including a sprint race this weekend.

Norris clocked an impressive lap of 1 minute 9.975 seconds on medium tires at the Interlagos circuit, edging out Piastri by a mere 0.023 seconds. The McLaren duo looked in dominant form, underlining the team’s supremacy after securing their second consecutive Constructors’ Championship title.

Behind them, Nico Hulkenberg of Sauber took third, trailing by 0.619 seconds, while Fernando Alonso placed fourth for Aston Martin. Brazilian rookie Gabriel Bortoletto delivered a strong fifth-place finish in front of his home crowd, followed by George Russell (Mercedes) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine).

Carlos Sainz (Williams), who skipped Thursday’s media session due to illness, finished eighth ahead of Isaac Hajjar (Racing Bulls) and Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes). The Ferrari camp struggled, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finishing 18th and 19th respectively. Hamilton, a three-time Brazil winner, lost control at Turn 11 in the closing moments, while both Ferrari drivers ran on hard tires.

Defending Brazilian GP winner Max Verstappen could only manage 17th, 36 points adrift of Norris in the overall standings. His Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda endured a tough session, crashing into the barriers at Turn 4 before returning to the track after repairs with just 25 minutes remaining.