Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has outperformed his teammate at each of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the points lead from his teammate by a single point after his victory in Mexico City recently, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the points battle, sitting 36 points behind behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, though minor, when he rotated at corner four early in the session.
Tsunoda lost control over the curbs on exit before spinning across the run-off area, and was fortunate to escape with just a light touch of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the final moments of the session, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho corner approaching the final bend on to the main straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in 19th place, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, 0.619secs slower than the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was in fourth, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
