Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the last five grands prix.
The McLaren driver just pipped fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the championship lead from his teammate by one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before the sprint shootout set to begin at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in realistic title contention, sitting 36 points Norris, ended up in P17 as his team ran a unique setup.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, 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 gravel trap, and was blessed to escape with just a light touch of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the final moments of the session, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn approaching the last turn on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, 0.619 seconds slower than the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.