Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the quickest lap in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the points lead from his teammate by a single point after his victory in Mexico City two weeks ago, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, lying 36 points Norris, ended up in 17th position as his Red Bull team ran a alternative strategy.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, if briefly, when he rotated at corner four early in the session.
The Japanese slid over the track edges before sliding over the gravel trap, and was blessed to get away with just a slight brush of the wall.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the final moments of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill corner before the last turn on to the main straight.
The veteran ended the session in 19th, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
