Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has outperformed his teammate at each of the past five race weekends.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the points lead from Piastri by a single point after his victory in Mexico City recently, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before sprint qualifying due at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in realistic title contention, sitting 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he lost control at Turn Four during the early running.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before rotating through the gravel trap, and was blessed to escape with just a light touch of the wall.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the conclusion of the practice, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn leading to the final bend on to the main straight.
Hamilton finished practice in 19th place, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber P3, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
