Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has beaten his teammate at all of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the championship lead from his teammate by a single point after winning in Mexico City recently, topped the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Before then, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before sprint qualifying set to begin at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his Red Bull team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to have an incident, if briefly, when he lost control at corner four during the early running.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was fortunate to avoid just a light touch of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the very end of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho turn approaching the final corner on to the pit straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in P19, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, 0.619 seconds slower than the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
