Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat 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 took the points lead from his teammate by just one point after taking the win in Mexico City two weeks ago, outpaced the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before sprint qualifying due at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, sitting with a 36-point deficit Norris, finished in 17th place as his team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, albeit lightly, when he spun at the fourth corner early in the session.
Tsunoda slid over the curbs on exit before spinning across the gravel trap, and was lucky to avoid just a slight brush of the fence.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the very end of the practice, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner before the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran wrapped up in P19, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the rest of the field, with the German's car P3, over half a second slower than Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
