Lando Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the past five grands prix.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate and title rival the Australian for the fastest time in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, beat the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Before then, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before the sprint shootout set to begin at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, sitting with a 36-point deficit Norris, ended up in 17th place as his Red Bull team ran a different programme.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, if briefly, when he lost control at corner four early in the session.
The Japanese spun out over the curbs on exit before rotating through the escape zone, and was blessed to escape with just a light touch of the fence.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the very end of the session, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner leading to the final bend on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in P19, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with the German's car third fastest, 0.619secs behind Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was in fourth, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
