Lando Norris Leads Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has beaten his teammate at all of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver just pipped team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in realistic title contention, trailing with a 36-point deficit Norris, finished in 17th place as his team followed a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he rotated at corner four early in the session.
Tsunoda spun out over the curbs on exit before sliding over the gravel trap, and was lucky to escape with just a light touch of the fence.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the conclusion of the session, spinning around through the quick descending Mergulho turn approaching the final bend on to the pit straight.
The veteran ended the session in 19th place, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the remaining drivers, with the German's car P3, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
