Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has beaten his teammate at each of the past five race weekends.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the top spot in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the title advantage from Piastri by one point after winning in Mexico City a fortnight back, beat the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before sprint qualifying scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his team ran a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, albeit lightly, when he lost control at Turn Four during the early running.
The Japanese slid over the curbs on exit before spinning across the escape zone, and was lucky to get away with just a light touch of the fence.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn leading to the final bend on to the pit straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.