Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by just one point after winning in Mexico City two weeks ago, outpaced the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before the sprint shootout due at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points behind behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his Red Bull team opted for a different programme.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, if briefly, when he rotated at the fourth corner during the early running.
Tsunoda slid over the exit kerbs before rotating through the escape zone, and was lucky to avoid just a minor contact of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the very end of the session, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn before the final bend on to the pit straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in P19, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber third fastest, over half a second off Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
