Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has outscored his teammate at all of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the championship lead from Piastri by one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his Red Bull team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, albeit lightly, when he spun at the fourth corner soon after starting.
Tsunoda slid over the curbs on exit before rotating through the gravel trap, and was blessed to escape with just a light touch of the fence.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also spun, at the final moments of the session, turning around through the quick descending Mergulho corner approaching the last turn on to the pit straight.
The veteran wrapped up in 19th, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the other competitors, with the German's car in third, over half a second off Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
