Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the past five race weekends.
The McLaren driver just pipped 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 grabbed the title advantage from his teammate by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, topped the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Before then, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, sitting 36 points behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his team opted for a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to have an incident, though minor, when he lost control at the fourth corner during the early running.
Tsunoda lost control over the exit kerbs before rotating through the run-off area, and was lucky to avoid just a minor contact of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill corner leading to the final bend on to the pit straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in 19th, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, over half a second off the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
