Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five race weekends.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the fastest time in the dying seconds of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the points lead from his teammate by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City a fortnight back, topped the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before sprint qualifying scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, lying with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his Red Bull team followed a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, albeit lightly, when he spun at corner four during the early running.
Tsunoda slid over the track edges before sliding over the gravel trap, and was lucky to get away with just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the very end of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill corner leading to the final bend on to the pit straight.
Hamilton ended the session in 19th place, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, 0.619secs behind the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
