Lando Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at all of the last five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the dying seconds of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the championship lead from Piastri by one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, beat the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before sprint qualifying scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the championship fight, trailing with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he rotated at corner four during the early running.
Tsunoda lost control over the exit kerbs before rotating through the gravel trap, and was blessed to get away with just a light touch of the fence.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the very end of the session, turning around through the quick descending Mergulho corner before the final corner on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with the German's car third fastest, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
