The British driver has outperformed his teammate at each of the past five grands prix.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the title advantage from Piastri by one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying set to begin at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the points battle, trailing 36 points behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, if briefly, when he spun at Turn Four soon after starting.
The Japanese slid over the curbs on exit before spinning across the run-off area, and was lucky to escape with just a light touch of the fence.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn leading to the last turn on to the pit straight.
The veteran wrapped up in 19th, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber P3, over half a second off Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
A tech journalist with over a decade of experience covering UK innovations and consumer electronics trends.
Nicholas Erickson
Nicholas Erickson
Nicholas Erickson
Nicholas Erickson
Nicholas Erickson
Nicholas Erickson