Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the last five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from his teammate by just one point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the championship fight, lying 36 points Norris, ended up in 17th position as his team ran a different programme.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he lost control at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese spun out over the curbs on exit before spinning across the gravel trap, and was lucky to get away with just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the very end of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho turn leading to the final bend on to the pit straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in 19th, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber in third, over half a second off Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
