Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at all of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the fastest time in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the championship lead from his teammate by just one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before sprint qualifying set to begin at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in realistic title contention, 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 crash, if briefly, when he spun at the fourth corner soon after starting.
Tsunoda slid over the exit kerbs before rotating through the run-off area, and was fortunate to avoid just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the final moments of the practice, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner leading to the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th place, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the rest of the field, with the German's car in third, 0.619secs off Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
