Lando Norris Leads Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outscored his teammate at all of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver just pipped fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the title advantage from his teammate by a single point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before the sprint shootout due at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, sitting 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his Red Bull team followed a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he lost control at corner four soon after starting.
Tsunoda slid over the curbs on exit before sliding over the gravel trap, and was blessed to avoid just a minor contact of the fence.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the final moments of the practice, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn approaching the last turn on to the pit straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.