Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored his teammate at each of the previous five grands prix.
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 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the title advantage from his teammate by a single point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, outpaced 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 due at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the points battle, sitting 36 points behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, albeit lightly, when he rotated at the fourth corner early in the session.
The Japanese slid over the track edges before spinning across the run-off area, and was blessed to escape with just a minor contact of the wall.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also spun, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn before the last turn on to the main straight.
Hamilton ended the session in 19th, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the rest of the field, with the German's Sauber in third, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
