Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at each of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the championship lead from his teammate by a single point after his victory in Mexico City recently, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before the sprint shootout scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in realistic title contention, sitting 36 points behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, albeit lightly, when he rotated at Turn Four soon after starting.
Tsunoda slid over the exit kerbs before rotating through the escape zone, and was fortunate to get away with just a minor contact of the wall.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the final moments of the practice, turning around through the quick descending Mergulho corner approaching the final corner on to the pit straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with the German's car in third, over half a second slower than Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Sainz.