Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has beaten his teammate at all of the past five grands prix.
The McLaren driver just pipped fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the title advantage from his teammate by a single point after his victory in Mexico City two weeks ago, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before sprint qualifying set to begin at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in realistic title contention, trailing with a 36-point deficit Norris, was classified in P17 as his team opted for a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, if briefly, when he lost control at the fourth corner during the early running.
Tsunoda slid over the curbs on exit before sliding over the escape zone, and was blessed to get away with just a slight brush of the fence.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the final moments of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho turn approaching the last turn on to the pit straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber in third, 0.619secs behind Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
