Norris Leads Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has outscored his teammate at each of the past five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, outpaced the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before the sprint shootout set to begin at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in the championship fight, sitting 36 points behind behind Norris, finished in P17 as his Red Bull team followed a unique setup.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, albeit lightly, when he spun at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the curbs on exit before rotating through the run-off area, and was fortunate to avoid just a light touch of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the quick descending corner leading to the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, over half a second behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
