Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at all of the last five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the quickest lap in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the championship lead from his teammate by just one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, trailing 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th place as his team opted for a different programme.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he spun at the fourth corner soon after starting.
Tsunoda lost control over the track edges before rotating through the run-off area, and was lucky to escape with just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn leading to the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran wrapped up in P19, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, over half a second slower than Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
