Norris Tops Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has beaten his teammate at all of the last five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver 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 grabbed the points lead from Piastri by a single point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, beat the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before sprint qualifying due at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, trailing 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to have an incident, though minor, when he rotated at the fourth corner early in the session.
The Japanese slid over the curbs on exit before sliding over the gravel trap, and was blessed to escape with just a minor contact of the fence.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also spun, at the conclusion of the practice, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn leading to the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran ended the session in 19th place, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber in third, over half a second slower than Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
