Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at all of the past five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the title advantage from Piastri by a single point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, topped the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before sprint qualifying scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the points battle, sitting with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, though minor, when he lost control at Turn Four during the early running.
The Japanese slid over the track edges before spinning across the run-off area, and was blessed to avoid just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the final moments of the practice, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho turn approaching the final bend on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in P19, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
