Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five race weekends.
The McLaren driver just pipped team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the top spot in the dying seconds of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the title advantage from his teammate by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City a fortnight back, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before sprint qualifying scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his team opted for a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he rotated at Turn Four soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before spinning across the gravel trap, and was lucky to get away with just a minor contact of the wall.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, turning around through the high-speed corner approaching the final corner on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th place, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber P3, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
