Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the last five race weekends.
The McLaren driver just pipped fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the points lead from his teammate by one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying due at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the championship fight, trailing with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his Red Bull team ran a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he lost control at the fourth corner early in the session.
The Japanese slid over the curbs on exit before rotating through the gravel trap, and was lucky to avoid just a minor contact of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the conclusion of the session, spinning around through the quick descending Mergulho turn leading to the final bend on to the pit straight.
Hamilton finished practice in 19th place, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber in third, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
