Lando Norris Leads Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at each of the last five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the championship lead from Piastri by one point after his victory in Mexico City two weeks ago, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before the sprint shootout set to begin at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, lying 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his Red Bull team ran a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he rotated at corner four soon after starting.
Tsunoda slid over the exit kerbs before rotating through the run-off area, and was blessed to avoid just a slight brush of the wall.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the final moments of the practice, turning around through the high-speed corner approaching the final corner on to the pit straight.
Hamilton ended the session in 19th, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, 0.619secs behind Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
