Lando Norris Tops Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the dying seconds of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the championship lead from his teammate by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before the sprint shootout set to begin at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in the points battle, sitting with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team followed a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, albeit lightly, when he spun at corner four early in the session.
Tsunoda spun out over the curbs on exit before sliding over the escape zone, and was fortunate to get away with just a minor contact of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the final moments of the session, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner leading to the last turn on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran wrapped up in P19, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
