Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at all of the past five race weekends.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and title rival the Australian for the fastest time in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the title advantage from his teammate by a single point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before the sprint shootout set to begin at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the points battle, sitting with a 36-point deficit Norris, was classified in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, if briefly, when he lost control at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before spinning across the escape zone, and was fortunate to avoid just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the quick descending corner approaching the final bend on to the pit straight.
Hamilton ended the session in P19, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, over half a second off Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
