Lando Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at all of the previous five race weekends.
The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the championship lead from Piastri by one point after taking the win in Mexico City a fortnight back, topped 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 scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his team opted for a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he spun at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the track edges before rotating through the escape zone, and was blessed to avoid just a light touch of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the quick descending Mergulho corner approaching the final corner on to the main straight.
Hamilton finished practice in 19th, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber P3, over half a second slower than Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
