Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the past five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the title advantage from Piastri by one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before sprint qualifying scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, sitting 36 points behind behind Norris, finished in P17 as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he rotated at the fourth corner during the early running.
Tsunoda lost control over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was lucky to escape with just a minor contact of the wall.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the very end of the practice, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner approaching the last turn on to the pit straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in 19th, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, over half a second off Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
