Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outscored his teammate at each of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the points lead from Piastri by a single point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before the sprint shootout due at 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, lying 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his Red Bull team followed a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to have an incident, though minor, when he lost control at Turn Four early in the session.
The Japanese spun out over the curbs on exit before rotating through the gravel trap, and was blessed to avoid just a slight brush of the wall.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the conclusion of the session, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn before the last turn on to the main straight.
Hamilton ended the session in P19, just behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
