Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City a fortnight back, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before sprint qualifying scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, lying with a 36-point deficit Norris, finished in 17th position as his team ran a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, albeit lightly, when he lost control at corner four soon after starting.
Tsunoda slid over the track edges before rotating through the gravel trap, and was fortunate to escape with just a light touch of the fence.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the conclusion of the session, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn approaching the last turn on to the main straight.
Hamilton ended the session in 19th, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the other competitors, with the German's car in third, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
