Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outscored his teammate at each of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from his teammate by one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before sprint qualifying scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, sitting 36 points Norris, ended up in 17th position as his Red Bull team followed a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, albeit lightly, when he rotated at the fourth corner early in the session.
Tsunoda spun out over the track edges before rotating through the run-off area, and was lucky to avoid just a light touch of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the very end of the session, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner before the final corner on to the pit straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in P19, trailing teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber third fastest, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
