Lando Norris Leads Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at each of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the points lead from Piastri by a single point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before the sprint shootout set to begin at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, lying 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he rotated at the fourth corner soon after starting.
Tsunoda lost control over the exit kerbs before sliding over the escape zone, and was fortunate to escape with just a minor contact of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also spun, at the conclusion of the session, rotating twice through the high-speed corner leading to the final bend on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th place, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber in third, 0.619secs behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
