Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has beaten his teammate at each of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri 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 Piastri by just one point after winning in Mexico City recently, topped the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, sitting 36 points behind Norris, was classified in 17th place as his team followed a unique setup.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, albeit lightly, when he rotated at the fourth corner early in the session.
Tsunoda spun out over the curbs on exit before sliding over the run-off area, and was lucky to avoid just a light touch of the wall.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the final moments of the session, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner leading to the last turn on to the main straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th place, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber P3, 0.619secs behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
