Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at all of the past five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the top spot in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the title advantage from Piastri by one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the points battle, sitting 36 points behind Norris, finished in P17 as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, though minor, when he lost control at corner four early in the session.
The Japanese slid over the curbs on exit before rotating through the run-off area, and was blessed to escape with just a slight brush of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the final moments of the session, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho turn approaching the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in P19, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
