Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored his teammate at each of the last five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the top spot in the dying seconds of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the points lead from Piastri by one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, outpaced the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before the sprint shootout due at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, trailing with a 36-point deficit Norris, ended up in 17th place as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to have an incident, if briefly, when he spun at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before rotating through the run-off area, and was fortunate to escape with just a light touch of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the final moments of the session, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner leading to the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran ended the session in P19, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber in third, over half a second off the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
