Norris Leads Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has outscored his teammate at all of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by just one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before the sprint shootout due at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, sitting 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, though minor, when he rotated at the fourth corner during the early running.
The Japanese lost control over the curbs on exit before spinning across the gravel trap, and was lucky to escape with just a minor contact of the fence.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also spun, at the very end of the session, rotating twice through the high-speed corner before the final bend on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in 19th place, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber in third, over half a second behind Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
