Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at all of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the title advantage from his teammate by a single point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the points battle, trailing 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his team ran a unique setup.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, albeit lightly, when he lost control at the fourth corner early in the session.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before sliding over the escape zone, and was lucky to avoid just a minor contact of the wall.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also spun, at the final moments of the session, turning around through the fast downhill corner before the last turn on to the main straight.
Hamilton finished practice in 19th place, trailing teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
