Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the past five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the championship lead from Piastri by just one point after winning in Mexico City recently, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, lying with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, ended up in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, though minor, when he spun at Turn Four during the early running.
Tsunoda spun out over the track edges before sliding over the gravel trap, and was lucky to get away with just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the conclusion of the practice, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho corner leading to the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
Hamilton ended the session in 19th place, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
