Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at all of the previous five race weekends.
The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from Piastri by one point after winning in Mexico City a fortnight back, outpaced the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before the sprint shootout due at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, sitting 36 points behind Norris, was classified in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a different programme.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to have an incident, albeit lightly, when he lost control at corner four early in the session.
Tsunoda slid over the curbs on exit before spinning across the escape zone, and was fortunate to escape with just a slight brush of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the final moments of the session, rotating twice through the high-speed corner leading to the final corner on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in 19th place, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber in third, over half a second slower than Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
