Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the top spot in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before sprint qualifying scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in realistic title contention, sitting 36 points behind behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he lost control at corner four soon after starting.
Tsunoda spun out over the track edges before sliding over the escape zone, and was fortunate to get away with just a light touch of the wall.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the very end of the session, spinning around through the quick descending Mergulho corner approaching the final bend on to the main straight.
The veteran wrapped up in P19, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the other competitors, with the German's car P3, over half a second slower than Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
