Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at all of the last five race weekends.
The McLaren driver just pipped fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the fastest time in the dying seconds of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the championship lead from his teammate by a single point after his victory in Mexico City two weeks ago, topped the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the championship fight, lying 36 points Norris, was classified in P17 as his Red Bull team followed a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, if briefly, when he lost control at corner four soon after starting.
Tsunoda slid over the track edges before spinning across the escape zone, and was blessed to escape with just a minor contact of the wall.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the final moments of the session, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner before the last turn on to the main straight.
The veteran ended the session in 19th place, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
