Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has outscored his teammate at each of the last five grands prix.
The McLaren driver just pipped team-mate and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, topped the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before the sprint shootout due at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the points battle, trailing with a 36-point deficit Norris, ended up in 17th place as his team ran a alternative strategy.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, though minor, when he spun at the fourth corner during the early running.
The Japanese slid over the track edges before sliding over the run-off area, and was blessed to get away with just a slight brush of the fence.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also spun, at the final moments of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill corner before the last turn on to the pit straight.
Hamilton ended the session in P19, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with the German's Sauber third fastest, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
