Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at each of the last five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the title advantage from Piastri by just one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, lying with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, though minor, when he spun at Turn Four during the early running.
Tsunoda lost control over the track edges before spinning across the escape zone, and was lucky to get away with just a minor contact of the fence.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the quick descending corner before the last turn on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th place, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber in third, over half a second off the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
