Lando Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has beaten his teammate at each of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the title advantage from his teammate by a single point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, trailing with a 36-point deficit Norris, was classified in 17th place as his Red Bull team followed a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, albeit lightly, when he lost control at Turn Four early in the session.
The Japanese lost control over the curbs on exit before sliding over the escape zone, and was blessed to get away with just a light touch of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the very end of the session, turning around through the quick descending Mergulho turn before the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th place, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with the German's car in third, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
