Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at all of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the championship lead from Piastri by one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, topped the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, sitting 36 points Norris, was classified in P17 as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, if briefly, when he rotated at Turn Four early in the session.
The Japanese slid over the curbs on exit before spinning across the escape zone, and was fortunate to escape with just a light touch of the fence.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the conclusion of the session, turning around through the quick descending Mergulho corner before the last turn on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran wrapped up in P19, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, 0.619secs behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
