Norris Tops Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the points lead from Piastri by just one point after his victory in Mexico City a fortnight back, beat the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before the sprint shootout scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, sitting 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he spun at corner four soon after starting.
Tsunoda spun out over the exit kerbs before spinning across the gravel trap, and was fortunate to escape with just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the final moments of the session, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner before the final bend on to the pit straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th place, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber P3, 0.619secs off the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
