Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the dying seconds of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying due at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, lying 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 crash, though minor, when he lost control at the fourth corner during the early running.
The Japanese spun out over the track edges before rotating through the run-off area, and was blessed to escape with just a slight brush of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the very end of the session, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn approaching the last turn on to the start-finish straight.
Hamilton ended the session in P19, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber third fastest, over half a second off Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
