Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the past five race weekends.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the dying seconds of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the title advantage from his teammate by a single point after winning in Mexico City two weeks ago, outpaced 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 scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the points battle, sitting 36 points Norris, was classified in 17th place as his team followed a different programme.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, if briefly, when he lost control at corner four soon after starting.
Tsunoda spun out over the exit kerbs before rotating through the gravel trap, and was lucky to avoid just a minor contact of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the very end of the session, rotating twice through the quick descending Mergulho corner before the final bend on to the main straight.
Hamilton ended the session in 19th place, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, over half a second slower than the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
