Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the title advantage from Piastri by one point after his victory in Mexico City two weeks ago, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his Red Bull team ran a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to have an incident, though minor, when he rotated at corner four early in the session.
Tsunoda lost control over the curbs on exit before sliding over the escape zone, and was lucky to get away with just a slight brush of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner approaching the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, over half a second off Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.