Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at all of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate 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 seized the championship lead from Piastri by just one point after his victory in Mexico City a fortnight back, outpaced the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before the sprint shootout set to begin at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind Norris, was classified in 17th place as his team opted for a different programme.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, though minor, when he spun at the fourth corner early in the session.
The Japanese slid over the curbs on exit before rotating through the escape zone, and was fortunate to avoid just a minor contact of the fence.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the very end of the session, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner leading to the last turn on to the main straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber in third, over half a second behind Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
