Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the title advantage from his teammate by just one point after taking the win in Mexico City two weeks ago, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before the sprint shootout scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the championship fight, lying 36 points behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his Red Bull team opted for a alternative strategy.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, albeit lightly, when he rotated at the fourth corner early in the session.
Tsunoda spun out over the exit kerbs before sliding over the gravel trap, and was lucky to get away with just a light touch of the wall.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the very end of the session, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner approaching the last turn on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber third fastest, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
