Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has outperformed Oscar Piastri at each of the last five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the quickest lap in the dying seconds of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the title advantage from his teammate by one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before sprint qualifying scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in realistic title contention, trailing with a 36-point deficit Norris, ended up in 17th position as his Red Bull team opted for a alternative strategy.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, if briefly, when he rotated at the fourth corner soon after starting.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was lucky to avoid just a light touch of the fence.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the final moments of the session, spinning around through the quick descending corner before the final corner on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th place, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, over half a second off the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
