Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has outscored his teammate at each of the last five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the fastest time in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before the sprint shootout set to begin at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, trailing with a 36-point deficit Norris, ended up in P17 as his team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to have an incident, though minor, when he lost control at the fourth corner soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the curbs on exit before rotating through the gravel trap, and was fortunate to get away with just a light touch of the wall.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner approaching the last turn on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with the German's car third fastest, 0.619secs off Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
