Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
The British driver has outperformed Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from Piastri by a single point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before sprint qualifying scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the championship fight, lying 36 points behind behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team ran a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he rotated at the fourth corner early in the session.
The Japanese lost control over the track edges before sliding over the gravel trap, and was fortunate to escape with just a light touch of the wall.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the final moments of the session, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho corner leading to the last turn on to the start-finish straight.
Hamilton finished practice in 19th, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber third fastest, 0.619 seconds slower than the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
