Norris Leads Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has outperformed Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the championship lead from his teammate by just one point after winning in Mexico City two weeks ago, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before the sprint shootout set to begin at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in realistic title contention, sitting 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his Red Bull team ran a alternative strategy.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, though minor, when he spun at Turn Four soon after starting.
The Japanese slid over the curbs on exit before rotating through the run-off area, and was fortunate to avoid just a minor contact of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the final moments of the session, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner approaching the final corner on to the pit straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in P19, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with the German's car third fastest, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
