Lando Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has outscored his teammate at all of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the fastest time in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, topped the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before sprint qualifying scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his Red Bull team followed a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, if briefly, when he spun at corner four during the early running.
The Japanese spun out over the track edges before rotating through the gravel trap, and was blessed to avoid just a slight brush of the wall.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner before the last turn on to the pit straight.
The veteran finished practice in P19, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber in third, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
