Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has beaten his teammate at all of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the fastest time in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the points lead from his teammate by one point after his victory in Mexico City a fortnight back, outpaced the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, sitting with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, if briefly, when he lost control at corner four soon after starting.
Tsunoda slid over the track edges before sliding over the run-off area, and was lucky to escape with just a slight brush of the wall.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the final moments of the practice, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn leading to the final bend on to the pit straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th place, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
