Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the points lead from his teammate by one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before the sprint shootout due at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in realistic title contention, sitting 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his team opted for a different programme.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, though minor, when he lost control at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the track edges before spinning across the escape zone, and was lucky to escape with just a slight brush of the wall.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the final moments of the session, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner approaching the final bend on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in P19, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber third fastest, 0.619secs off the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
