🔗 Share this article Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice The British driver has outperformed his teammate at each of the previous five grands prix. The McLaren driver narrowly beat fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix. The British racer, who took the points lead from his teammate by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City two weeks ago, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs. Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before the sprint shootout scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT. Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, sitting with a 36-point deficit Norris, finished in 17th place as his team followed a different programme. His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, if briefly, when he spun at the fourth corner soon after starting. The Japanese spun out over the curbs on exit before rotating through the escape zone, and was blessed to avoid just a minor contact of the barrier. The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, spinning around through the quick descending Mergulho turn before the final bend on to the start-finish straight. The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc. The McLaren drivers were well clear of the rest of the field, with the German's car P3, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's best. The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.