Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has beaten his teammate at each of the last five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the championship lead from Piastri by just one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, beat 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 the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in the championship fight, lying with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he lost control at the fourth corner during the early running.
Tsunoda slid over the track edges before rotating through the escape zone, and was fortunate to avoid just a minor contact of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner leading to the final corner on to the pit straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the rest of the field, with the German's car third fastest, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
