Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outscored his teammate at all of the last five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from Piastri by one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before sprint qualifying set to begin at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the points battle, trailing with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his Red Bull team ran a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, though minor, when he rotated at corner four early in the session.
The Japanese lost control over the track edges before sliding over the run-off area, and was fortunate to escape with just a slight brush of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn before the final corner on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in P19, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
