Lando Norris Tops Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outscored his teammate at all of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the points lead from his teammate by a single point after winning in Mexico City two weeks ago, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in realistic title contention, lying with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his Red Bull team opted for a different programme.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he lost control at Turn Four during the early running.
The Japanese spun out over the track edges before sliding over the gravel trap, and was lucky to avoid just a light touch of the fence.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the conclusion of the session, spinning around through the quick descending Mergulho turn before the final corner on to the main straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in 19th, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, 0.619secs off Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.