Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the fastest time in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the title advantage from Piastri by a single point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, topped the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before the sprint shootout set to begin at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the championship fight, trailing with a 36-point deficit Norris, was classified in 17th place as his Red Bull team followed a alternative strategy.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, though minor, when he rotated at Turn Four soon after starting.
Tsunoda lost control over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was blessed to escape with just a minor contact of the wall.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the very end of the practice, rotating twice through the quick descending corner before the final bend on to the pit straight.
Hamilton finished practice in 19th place, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber in third, over half a second slower than Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
