Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the past five race weekends.
The McLaren driver just pipped fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after winning in Mexico City a fortnight back, topped the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before the sprint shootout scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, sitting 36 points Norris, finished in 17th place as his team opted for a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, albeit lightly, when he lost control at corner four soon after starting.
Tsunoda lost control over the exit kerbs before sliding over the run-off area, and was fortunate to avoid just a slight brush of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the final moments of the session, turning around through the quick descending corner before the last turn on to the start-finish straight.
Hamilton finished practice in P19, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the rest of the field, with the German's Sauber in third, over half a second behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
