Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at all of the past five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the title advantage from Piastri by a single point after winning in Mexico City recently, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the championship fight, lying with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, albeit lightly, when he rotated at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese slid over the exit kerbs before rotating through the escape zone, and was blessed to get away with 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 leading to the final bend on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th place, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber in third, 0.619secs behind the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
