Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at all of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris just pipped fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the championship lead from his teammate by one point after taking the win in Mexico City two weeks ago, topped the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before the sprint shootout due at 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the championship fight, sitting with a 36-point deficit Norris, finished in 17th place as his team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to have an incident, if briefly, when he rotated at Turn Four during the early running.
Tsunoda lost control over the track edges before spinning across the gravel trap, and was blessed to avoid just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the very end of the session, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn before the final bend on to the main straight.
Hamilton ended the session in 19th, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
