Lando Norris Tops Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has beaten his teammate at each of the past five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the championship lead from his teammate by a single point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying due at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the championship fight, sitting 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he spun at corner four early in the session.
Tsunoda slid over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was blessed to avoid just a slight brush of the wall.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn before the final corner on to the main straight.
The veteran ended the session in P19, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with the German's car P3, over half a second behind the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
