Lando Norris Leads Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has beaten his teammate at each of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and title rival the Australian for the fastest time in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the championship lead from his teammate by one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in the points battle, lying 36 points Norris, ended up in P17 as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, albeit lightly, when he rotated at corner four during the early running.
The Japanese lost control over the track edges before sliding over the run-off area, and was fortunate to avoid just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the final moments of the practice, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner before the last turn on to the pit straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the rest of the field, with the German's car third fastest, 0.619secs off Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
