Lando Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at all of the previous five race weekends.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the points lead from Piastri by a single point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before sprint qualifying due at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, sitting 36 points behind behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his Red Bull team followed a alternative strategy.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, if briefly, when he spun at Turn Four during the early running.
Tsunoda spun out over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was lucky to get away with just a light touch of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the very end of the session, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn before the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
Hamilton ended the session in 19th, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
