Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has outperformed his teammate at each of the last five grands prix.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the title advantage from his teammate by one point after winning in Mexico City a fortnight back, topped the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before sprint qualifying set to begin at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his team ran a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, if briefly, when he spun at the fourth corner early in the session.
Tsunoda lost control over the track edges before sliding over the gravel trap, and was blessed to get away with just a minor contact of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho turn before the last turn on to the main straight.
The veteran ended the session in 19th place, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with the German's car P3, 0.619secs behind Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
