Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outscored his teammate at each of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the dying seconds of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from Piastri by one point after winning in Mexico City two weeks ago, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before the sprint shootout set to begin at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his Red Bull team ran a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, albeit lightly, when he rotated at corner four early in the session.
Tsunoda spun out over the exit kerbs before rotating through the gravel trap, and was lucky to escape with just a light touch of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the very end of the session, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn leading to the final corner on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in P19, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the rest of the field, with the German's car third fastest, over half a second slower than the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.