Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the last five race weekends.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the points lead from Piastri by one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, outpaced the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before sprint qualifying set to begin at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, albeit lightly, when he rotated at corner four early in the session.
The Japanese spun out over the curbs on exit before sliding over the run-off area, and was fortunate to get away with just a minor contact of the wall.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the final moments of the session, rotating twice through the high-speed corner leading to the final bend on to the pit straight.
Hamilton ended the session in 19th place, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, 0.619secs off the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
