Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the quickest lap in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the championship lead from his teammate by just one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Before then, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before the sprint shootout set to begin at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, sitting 36 points behind Norris, finished in P17 as his Red Bull team followed a different programme.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to have an incident, though minor, when he lost control at Turn Four soon after starting.
The Japanese slid over the track edges before spinning across the run-off area, and was fortunate to escape with just a light touch of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the conclusion of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho turn before the final corner on to the pit straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in 19th place, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, over half a second slower than Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
