Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has beaten his teammate at each of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after his victory in Mexico City recently, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before the sprint shootout scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, sitting 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his Red Bull team opted for a different programme.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, if briefly, when he spun at corner four during the early running.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before spinning across the escape zone, and was lucky to escape with just a slight brush of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also spun, at the very end of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill corner leading to the final corner on to the main straight.
Hamilton finished practice in 19th, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber P3, over half a second off Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
