Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at each of the past five race weekends.
The McLaren driver just pipped team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before sprint qualifying set to begin at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the championship fight, sitting 36 points behind behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his Red Bull team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, albeit lightly, when he rotated at corner four early in the session.
Tsunoda spun out over the curbs on exit before rotating through the escape zone, and was lucky to escape with just a minor contact of the fence.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also spun, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn approaching the last turn on to the pit straight.
Hamilton ended the session in P19, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the remaining drivers, with the German's car P3, 0.619 seconds slower than the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
