Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the past five race weekends.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the dying seconds of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from Piastri by one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, topped the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before the sprint shootout set to begin at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in realistic title contention, trailing with a 36-point deficit Norris, ended up in 17th position as his team ran a alternative strategy.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to have an incident, if briefly, when he rotated at the fourth corner soon after starting.
The Japanese spun out over the track edges before sliding over the gravel trap, and was fortunate to avoid just a minor contact of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn approaching the last turn on to the pit straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in 19th place, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber P3, 0.619secs slower than the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
