Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has outperformed his teammate at each of the last five race weekends.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after his victory in Mexico City recently, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before sprint qualifying scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team ran a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, albeit lightly, when he rotated at the fourth corner early in the session.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was fortunate to avoid just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn before the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
Hamilton ended the session in P19, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with the German's car in third, 0.619secs behind Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
