Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has outperformed his teammate at each of the last five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the title advantage from his teammate by a single point after his victory in Mexico City two weeks ago, beat the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before the sprint shootout set to begin at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the points battle, lying with a 36-point deficit Norris, was classified in 17th place as his team opted for a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to have an incident, albeit lightly, when he rotated at the fourth corner soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before sliding over the gravel trap, and was lucky to get away with just a slight brush of the wall.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the very end of the practice, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho turn before the final bend on to the pit straight.
The veteran wrapped up in P19, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber P3, 0.619secs behind Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
