Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at all of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from his teammate by one point after taking the win in Mexico City a fortnight back, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, lying with a 36-point deficit Norris, finished in 17th place as his team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he rotated at the fourth corner early in the session.
Tsunoda spun out over the exit kerbs before spinning across the escape zone, and was lucky to avoid just a light touch of the fence.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the final moments of the session, turning around through the fast downhill corner leading to the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber in third, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
