Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outscored his teammate at each of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the dying seconds of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the points lead from Piastri by one point after his victory in Mexico City a fortnight back, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before the sprint shootout scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the championship fight, lying with a 36-point deficit Norris, was classified in 17th position as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, if briefly, when he spun at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese slid over the curbs on exit before spinning across the gravel trap, and was lucky to avoid just a slight brush of the wall.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill corner leading to the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th place, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber P3, 0.619secs off Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
