Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the fastest time in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from his teammate by a single point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in the points battle, trailing 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, albeit lightly, when he rotated at Turn Four early in the session.
Tsunoda spun out over the curbs on exit before spinning across the escape zone, and was blessed to get away with just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the final moments of the practice, spinning around through the fast downhill corner before the final corner on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in P19, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the rest of the field, with the German's Sauber in third, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
