Lando Norris Leads Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at each of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris just pipped fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the fastest time in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the title advantage from Piastri by a single point after winning in Mexico City a fortnight back, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before sprint qualifying set to begin at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the championship fight, sitting 36 points behind behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his team opted for a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, if briefly, when he lost control at the fourth corner soon after starting.
Tsunoda slid over the track edges before sliding over the gravel trap, and was fortunate to get away with just a light touch of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the conclusion of the practice, spinning around through the quick descending corner before the final bend on to the pit straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in 19th, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
