Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the fastest time in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the points lead from Piastri by one point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, topped the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before the sprint shootout set to begin at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, lying 36 points Norris, was classified in 17th place as his team opted for a different programme.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to have an incident, though minor, when he lost control at the fourth corner during the early running.
The Japanese slid over the track edges before sliding over the escape zone, and was blessed to escape with just a light touch of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the final moments of the session, turning around through the high-speed corner leading to the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th place, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with the German's car P3, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
