Lando Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has outperformed his teammate at all of the past five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the championship lead from his teammate by one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before the sprint shootout set to begin at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind Norris, finished in P17 as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, albeit lightly, when he lost control at Turn Four early in the session.
The Japanese slid over the exit kerbs before rotating through the gravel trap, and was blessed to avoid just a slight brush of the wall.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the conclusion of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill corner approaching the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in 19th place, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, over half a second behind Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
