Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the past five grands prix.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the fastest time in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the championship lead from his teammate by one point after his victory in Mexico City two weeks ago, outpaced the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before the sprint shootout scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his Red Bull team followed a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to have an incident, though minor, when he rotated at Turn Four early in the session.
Tsunoda lost control over the track edges before rotating through the gravel trap, and was blessed to avoid just a light touch of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn approaching the final corner on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in P19, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, over half a second behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
