Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the last five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the top spot in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the championship lead from his teammate by one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before the sprint shootout set to begin at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, trailing 36 points Norris, finished in 17th position as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to have an incident, albeit lightly, when he spun at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was blessed to escape with just a light touch of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho corner leading to the final corner on to the pit straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th place, trailing teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
