Lando Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has outperformed Oscar Piastri at all of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by one point after his victory in Mexico City a fortnight back, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his team ran a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he rotated at Turn Four during the early running.
The Japanese spun out over the track edges before spinning across the gravel trap, and was blessed to avoid just a minor contact of the fence.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the conclusion of the practice, spinning around through the high-speed corner before the last turn on to the main straight.
The veteran wrapped up in 19th place, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, over half a second slower than Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
