Norris Leads Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has beaten his teammate at each of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from Piastri by one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before sprint qualifying scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the championship fight, trailing with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his team ran a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, albeit lightly, when he lost control at Turn Four soon after starting.
The Japanese slid over the curbs on exit before sliding over the gravel trap, and was fortunate to avoid just a light touch of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the very end of the session, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn leading to the final bend on to the pit straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in P19, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, 0.619secs behind Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
