Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has beaten his teammate at each of the previous five race weekends.
The McLaren driver just pipped team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the quickest lap in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the points lead from his teammate by a single point after winning in Mexico City two weeks ago, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before the sprint shootout set to begin at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the championship fight, lying with a 36-point deficit Norris, was classified in 17th place as his team ran a different programme.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, albeit lightly, when he lost control at Turn Four early in the session.
The Japanese slid over the exit kerbs before spinning across the gravel trap, and was blessed to escape with just a minor contact of the wall.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the conclusion of the session, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho turn leading to the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber in third, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
