Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at each of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the title advantage from Piastri by one point after his victory in Mexico City two weeks ago, beat the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before sprint qualifying scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the points battle, trailing 36 points Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, if briefly, when he spun at corner four during the early running.
The Japanese spun out over the curbs on exit before spinning across the gravel trap, and was blessed to avoid just a slight brush of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the conclusion of the session, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho turn approaching the final corner on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in P19, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with the German's car P3, 0.619 seconds behind the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
