Norris Leads Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris 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 top spot in the final moments 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.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in realistic title contention, lying with a 36-point deficit Norris, finished in P17 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 the fourth corner during the early running.
The Japanese lost control over the curbs on exit before spinning across the escape zone, and was blessed to get away with just a minor contact of the fence.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the conclusion of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill corner approaching the final corner on to the pit straight.
The veteran wrapped up in 19th, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, over half a second slower than Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
