Lando Norris Tops Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at all of the past five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, beat the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before the sprint shootout due at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the championship fight, sitting 36 points behind Norris, was classified in 17th place as his team opted for a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to have an incident, though minor, when he lost control at Turn Four soon after starting.
The Japanese spun out over the track edges before spinning across the gravel trap, and was fortunate to get away with just a minor contact of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the very end of the practice, rotating twice through the quick descending Mergulho corner approaching the last turn on to the pit straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th place, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, over half a second off Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
