Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at all of the previous five race weekends.
The McLaren driver just pipped fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the points lead from his teammate by a single point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before the sprint shootout due at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the points battle, trailing 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his team followed a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, though minor, when he lost control at the fourth corner during the early running.
The Japanese spun out over the curbs on exit before rotating through the run-off area, and was fortunate to escape with just a minor contact of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the high-speed corner leading to the last turn on to the main straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th place, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber P3, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.