Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at each of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the fastest time in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the points lead from Piastri by just one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before the sprint shootout set to begin at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his Red Bull team followed a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he spun at corner four during the early running.
The Japanese spun out over the curbs on exit before spinning across the gravel trap, and was fortunate to avoid just a slight brush of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the final moments of the session, spinning around through the quick descending Mergulho turn approaching the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
Hamilton finished practice in 19th, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, 0.619secs behind Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
