Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has outscored his teammate at each of the last five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the dying seconds of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the championship lead from his teammate by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City two weeks ago, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his team ran a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, albeit lightly, when he rotated at the fourth corner during the early running.
The Japanese spun out over the curbs on exit before rotating through the gravel trap, and was fortunate to avoid just a minor contact of the fence.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the final moments of the practice, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn leading to the final corner on to the main straight.
The veteran finished practice in P19, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the rest of the field, with the German's car in third, 0.619 seconds slower than the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
