Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored his teammate at each of the past five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the top spot in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the title advantage from his teammate by a single point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, topped the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before the sprint shootout due at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the championship fight, sitting 36 points behind Norris, finished in P17 as his team followed a different programme.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he spun at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before rotating through the escape zone, and was blessed to get away with just a light touch of the wall.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill corner leading to the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in P19, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, over half a second slower than the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
