Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the fastest time in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from his teammate by a single point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, beat the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before the sprint shootout set to begin at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his Red Bull team opted for a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, albeit lightly, when he spun at the fourth corner soon after starting.
Tsunoda spun out over the track edges before sliding over the run-off area, and was blessed to avoid just a light touch of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the final moments of the session, rotating twice through the high-speed corner before the final corner on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in 19th, trailing teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with the German's car in third, over half a second off Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
