Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the quickest lap in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the championship lead from his teammate by one point after winning in Mexico City two weeks ago, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the championship fight, sitting 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his Red Bull team followed a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, albeit lightly, when he rotated at Turn Four during the early running.
Tsunoda slid over the exit kerbs before rotating through the escape zone, and was fortunate to avoid just a light touch of the fence.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the very end of the session, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho corner approaching the last turn on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th place, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, over half a second slower than the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
