Lando Norris Leads Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has outperformed his teammate at each of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the points lead from Piastri by a single point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before the sprint shootout scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in realistic title contention, lying 36 points Norris, ended up in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a different programme.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, albeit lightly, when he lost control at Turn Four early in the session.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before sliding over the escape zone, and was fortunate to escape with just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill corner before the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran wrapped up in 19th place, just behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber P3, over half a second behind Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
