Lando Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the dying seconds of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the points lead from Piastri by one point after winning in Mexico City two weeks ago, beat the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before the sprint shootout set to begin at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, sitting with a 36-point deficit Norris, was classified in P17 as his Red Bull team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, if briefly, when he spun at the fourth corner during the early running.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before rotating through the escape zone, and was blessed to get away with just a slight brush of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also spun, at the final moments of the practice, rotating twice through the quick descending corner before the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in 19th place, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with the German's Sauber in third, over half a second behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
