Norris Leads Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the top spot in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the points lead from Piastri by a single point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before sprint qualifying scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the points battle, lying with a 36-point deficit Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a different programme.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, if briefly, when he spun at corner four during the early running.
Tsunoda lost control over the exit kerbs before spinning across the escape zone, and was fortunate to get away with just a slight brush of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the final moments of the session, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner approaching the last turn on to the pit straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in 19th, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the rest of the field, with the German's car third fastest, over half a second off Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
