Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at each of the last five race weekends.
The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the dying seconds of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from his teammate by one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
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 other racer in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his Red Bull team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, if briefly, when he rotated at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before sliding over the run-off area, and was lucky to get away with just a slight brush of the wall.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the conclusion of the practice, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn leading to the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran ended the session in P19, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the other competitors, with the German's car third fastest, over half a second behind the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
