Lando Norris Tops Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has outperformed Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the points lead from his teammate by one point after winning in Mexico City recently, topped the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the championship fight, trailing with a 36-point deficit Norris, was classified in P17 as his team ran a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, if briefly, when he rotated at the fourth corner early in the session.
Tsunoda lost control over the track edges before sliding over the escape zone, and was lucky to get away with just a light touch of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the very end of the session, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner leading to the last turn on to the start-finish straight.
Hamilton ended the session in 19th, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with the German's car in third, over half a second off Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
