Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored his teammate at all of the past five race weekends.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the dying seconds of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the title advantage from his teammate by a single point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before the sprint shootout set to begin at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, sitting 36 points behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his Red Bull team followed a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, albeit lightly, when he lost control at the fourth corner during the early running.
The Japanese slid over the exit kerbs before rotating through the escape zone, and was blessed to avoid just a slight brush of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the very end of the practice, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner leading to the final corner on to the pit straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in 19th place, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber in third, 0.619secs off Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
