Lando Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has outscored his teammate at each of the last five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the championship lead from his teammate by one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, topped the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before the sprint shootout scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points behind behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, though minor, when he rotated at corner four during the early running.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before sliding over the gravel trap, and was lucky to avoid just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the high-speed corner leading to the final corner on to the main straight.
Hamilton finished practice in 19th, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber P3, 0.619 seconds slower than the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
