Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
The British driver has beaten his teammate at each of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the dying seconds of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the title advantage from Piastri by one point after taking the win in Mexico City two weeks ago, outpaced the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before sprint qualifying scheduled for the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in realistic title contention, trailing with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his team followed a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to have an incident, albeit lightly, when he lost control at the fourth corner during the early running.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before sliding over the gravel trap, and was lucky to escape with just a minor contact of the wall.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn leading to the final corner on to the pit straight.
Hamilton ended the session in 19th, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber third fastest, 0.619 seconds behind the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
