Norris Tops Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the past five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the dying seconds of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from his teammate by just one point after his victory in Mexico City a fortnight back, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, 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 only other driver in realistic title contention, trailing with a 36-point deficit Norris, ended up in 17th position as his team ran a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he spun at Turn Four soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before sliding over the run-off area, and was fortunate to escape with just a light touch of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the final moments of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho corner approaching the final bend on to the main straight.
Hamilton finished practice in 19th, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber P3, over half a second off Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
