Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has beaten his teammate at all of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the dying seconds of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the title advantage from Piastri by a single point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, topped 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.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the points battle, trailing 36 points behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his team followed a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, though minor, when he lost control at the fourth corner during the early running.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before rotating through the gravel trap, and was fortunate to escape with just a minor contact of the fence.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill corner before the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran wrapped up in P19, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber P3, over half a second off Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
