Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the championship lead from his teammate by just one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, topped the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before the sprint shootout scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in realistic title contention, sitting 36 points behind Norris, ended up 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, though minor, when he rotated at corner four early in the session.
The Japanese slid over the track edges before rotating through the run-off area, and was blessed to get away with just a slight brush of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the very end of the session, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn approaching the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th place, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber P3, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
