Lando Norris Leads Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at all of the last five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the fastest time in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the points lead from Piastri by one point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, outpaced the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before the sprint shootout due at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, though minor, when he lost control at the fourth corner soon after starting.
Tsunoda spun out over the curbs on exit before spinning across the escape zone, and was fortunate to escape with just a minor contact of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the final moments of the practice, spinning around through the quick descending Mergulho corner approaching the final bend on to the main straight.
Hamilton finished practice in P19, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
