Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has outperformed Oscar Piastri at each of the past five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and title rival the Australian for the fastest time in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the title advantage from his teammate by just one point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, topped the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in realistic title contention, sitting 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his Red Bull team opted for a alternative strategy.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to have an incident, if briefly, when he rotated at the fourth corner soon after starting.
The Japanese spun out over the curbs on exit before sliding over the escape zone, and was blessed to get away with just a light touch of the wall.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the final moments of the session, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner before the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran finished practice in P19, trailing teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, over half a second slower than the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.