Lando Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the last five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the title advantage from his teammate by a single point after his victory in Mexico City a fortnight back, topped the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the points battle, lying 36 points behind behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his Red Bull team followed a alternative strategy.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, albeit lightly, when he lost control at the fourth corner during the early running.
The Japanese slid over the exit kerbs before sliding over the run-off area, and was fortunate to escape with just a light touch of the fence.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the very end of the session, rotating twice through the high-speed corner approaching the final bend on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in 19th place, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, over half a second off Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
