Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outscored his teammate at each of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the quickest lap in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the title advantage from his teammate by one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, topped the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before sprint qualifying due at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the points battle, trailing 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his team followed a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, though minor, when he rotated at Turn Four soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the curbs on exit before spinning across the gravel trap, and was fortunate to avoid just a light touch of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the final moments of the session, turning around through the fast downhill corner approaching the final bend on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the rest of the field, with the German's Sauber P3, over half a second behind Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.