Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the last five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the title advantage from Piastri by just one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before sprint qualifying set to begin at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the championship fight, trailing with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his team opted for a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to have an incident, though minor, when he rotated at corner four during the early running.
The Japanese lost control over the curbs on exit before sliding over the escape zone, and was fortunate to get away with just a slight brush of the fence.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, rotating twice through the quick descending corner approaching the final bend on to the pit straight.
The veteran finished practice in P19, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber P3, over half a second slower than Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
