Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at all of the last five race weekends.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the points lead from Piastri by a single point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before the sprint shootout due at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the points battle, trailing with a 36-point deficit Norris, ended up in 17th position as his team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he lost control at Turn Four during the early running.
The Japanese slid over the curbs on exit 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 final moments of the session, rotating twice through the quick descending corner leading to the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in 19th place, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
