🔗 Share this article Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice The British driver has beaten his teammate at each of the past five grands prix. Lando Norris just pipped fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Norris, who took the championship lead from his teammate by one point after his victory in Mexico City a fortnight back, beat the Australian by 0.023 seconds. Before then, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before sprint qualifying set to begin at 18:30 GMT. Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, sitting 36 points behind behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a alternative strategy. Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to have an incident, though minor, when he spun at corner four during the early running. The Japanese spun out over the track edges before sliding over the run-off area, and was fortunate to escape with just a light touch of the barrier. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the final moments of the practice, spinning around through the quick descending Mergulho corner leading to the final corner on to the start-finish straight. Hamilton ended the session in 19th place, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc. The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, over half a second behind Piastri's best. Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.