Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at all of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the championship lead from his teammate by just one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in realistic title contention, lying with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to have an incident, though minor, when he rotated at corner four early in the session.
The Japanese slid over the track edges before spinning across the run-off area, and was blessed to escape with just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the final moments of the session, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn approaching the last turn on to the main straight.
Hamilton finished practice in 19th, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with the German's car third fastest, over half a second slower than Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
