Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at all of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the fastest time in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the points lead from his teammate by one point after winning in Mexico City a fortnight back, outpaced the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind Norris, finished in P17 as his Red Bull team opted for a different programme.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to have an incident, albeit lightly, when he spun at Turn Four during the early running.
The Japanese lost control over the curbs on exit before rotating through the gravel trap, and was blessed to get away with just a minor contact of the wall.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho turn before the final corner on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber in third, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
