Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at all of the past five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the points lead from his teammate by one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before the sprint shootout set to begin at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, sitting 36 points behind Norris, was classified in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, albeit lightly, when he lost control at the fourth corner during the early running.
Tsunoda spun out over the curbs on exit before rotating through the run-off area, and was fortunate to avoid just a minor contact of the wall.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the final moments of the session, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn before the last turn on to the pit straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in 19th place, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, 0.619 seconds off the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
