Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has beaten his teammate at each of the past five race weekends.
The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the title advantage from Piastri by one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, topped the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before the sprint shootout scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, lying 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his Red Bull team ran a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, if briefly, when he spun at the fourth corner soon after starting.
The Japanese spun out over the track edges before rotating through the gravel trap, and was lucky to escape with just a slight brush of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also spun, at the conclusion of the session, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn approaching the final bend on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in 19th, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the rest of the field, with the German's Sauber in third, 0.619secs behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
