Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has beaten his teammate at all of the past five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the quickest lap in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the title advantage from Piastri by one point after winning in Mexico City recently, beat the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before sprint qualifying set to begin at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, though minor, when he rotated at Turn Four early in the session.
The Japanese slid over the exit kerbs before sliding over the escape zone, and was fortunate to get away with just a slight brush of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the very end of the session, rotating twice through the quick descending Mergulho turn leading to the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in 19th, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, over half a second slower than Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
