Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has outscored his teammate at each of the past five race weekends.
Lando Norris just pipped fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after his victory in Mexico City recently, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before sprint qualifying due at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his Red Bull team followed a different programme.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, albeit lightly, when he spun at Turn Four early in the session.
The Japanese slid over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was fortunate to get away with just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the final moments of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn approaching the final corner on to the main straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, over half a second behind Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
