Lando Norris Leads Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has outscored his teammate at each of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate and title rival the Australian for the fastest time in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the championship lead from his teammate by a single point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, beat the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Earlier in the session, 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 points battle, sitting 36 points behind behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his Red Bull team opted for a alternative strategy.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, albeit lightly, when he lost control at the fourth corner soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the track edges before spinning across the run-off area, and was lucky to escape with just a slight brush of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the conclusion of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho corner approaching the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in 19th place, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, 0.619secs behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
