Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at all of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the points lead from Piastri by just one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before the sprint shootout set to begin at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, trailing with a 36-point deficit Norris, finished in 17th place as his team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to have an incident, albeit lightly, when he rotated at corner four during the early running.
Tsunoda lost control over the exit kerbs before sliding over the gravel trap, and was blessed to avoid just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the final moments of the practice, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner approaching the final bend on to the pit straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in P19, trailing teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the other competitors, with the German's car third fastest, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
