Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five race weekends.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the title advantage from Piastri by one point after winning in Mexico City a fortnight back, beat the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, albeit lightly, when he rotated at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the track edges before spinning across the gravel trap, and was blessed to get away with just a slight brush of the wall.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the very end of the session, spinning around through the high-speed corner before the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
Hamilton ended the session in P19, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, over half a second slower than the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
