Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at all of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from his teammate by just one point after winning in Mexico City a fortnight back, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the points battle, trailing 36 points Norris, finished in P17 as his Red Bull team ran a different programme.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, if briefly, when he rotated at corner four early in the session.
Tsunoda spun out over the curbs on exit before sliding over the escape zone, and was fortunate to avoid just a light touch of the fence.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner approaching the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran wrapped up in P19, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
