Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the last five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the championship lead from Piastri by one point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before sprint qualifying scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, sitting with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his team followed a alternative strategy.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, albeit lightly, when he rotated at corner four during the early running.
Tsunoda slid over the exit kerbs before rotating through the run-off area, and was lucky to escape with just a light touch of the fence.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the very end of the practice, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho turn before the last turn on to the main straight.
Hamilton ended the session in 19th, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber third fastest, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
