Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
The British driver has outperformed his teammate at all of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the title advantage from his teammate by just one point after taking the win in Mexico City a fortnight back, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before sprint qualifying scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, sitting 36 points behind behind Norris, finished in P17 as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, albeit lightly, when he spun at Turn Four early in the session.
Tsunoda lost control over the exit kerbs before sliding over the escape zone, and was fortunate to get away with just a light touch of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the conclusion of the session, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho corner approaching the final bend on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in P19, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with the German's Sauber P3, 0.619secs off the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
