Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the past five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the points lead from Piastri by one point after his victory in Mexico City two weeks ago, outpaced the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before sprint qualifying set to begin at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the championship fight, trailing with a 36-point deficit Norris, finished in 17th position as his Red Bull team ran a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he spun at Turn Four early in the session.
The Japanese lost control over the curbs on exit before spinning across the gravel trap, and was lucky to avoid just a slight brush of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the very end of the practice, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn approaching the final bend on to the main straight.
The veteran wrapped up in 19th place, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with the German's car in third, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
