Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored his teammate at all of the past five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the title advantage from Piastri by one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before the sprint shootout set to begin at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points Norris, was classified in 17th position as his Red Bull team opted for a alternative strategy.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, though minor, when he lost control at the fourth corner soon after starting.
The Japanese slid over the exit kerbs before sliding over the gravel trap, and was blessed to escape with just a slight brush of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the very end of the practice, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner before the final corner on to the pit straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the remaining drivers, with the German's car third fastest, over half a second slower than Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
