Lando Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and championship contender the Australian 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 just one point after winning in Mexico City a fortnight back, topped the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before sprint qualifying due at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the points battle, sitting with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his team ran a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to have an incident, albeit lightly, when he lost control at corner four during the early running.
Tsunoda slid over the track edges before sliding over the gravel trap, and was fortunate to get away with just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn approaching the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in P19, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber P3, 0.619secs behind the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
