Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at all of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender 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 Piastri by a single point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team ran a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, though minor, when he rotated at Turn Four soon after starting.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before rotating through the run-off area, and was blessed to get away with just a light touch of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the very end of the session, turning around through the quick descending Mergulho turn leading to the last turn on to the pit straight.
Hamilton ended the session in 19th place, just behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with the German's car third fastest, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
