Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
The British driver has outscored his teammate at all of the last five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and title rival the Australian for the fastest time in the dying seconds of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the championship lead from his teammate by just one point after his victory in Mexico City a fortnight back, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before the sprint shootout set to begin at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, lying with a 36-point deficit Norris, was classified in 17th position as his team opted for a different programme.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, though minor, when he lost control at the fourth corner during the early running.
Tsunoda slid over the exit kerbs before rotating through the run-off area, and was fortunate to escape with just a minor contact of the fence.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the very end of the session, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn before the final corner on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in P19, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, 0.619secs off the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
