Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at each of the previous five race weekends.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after his victory in Mexico City a fortnight back, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before sprint qualifying scheduled for the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, sitting with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, finished in P17 as his team opted for a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to have an incident, though minor, when he lost control at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese slid over the track edges before rotating through the escape zone, and was blessed to get away with just a slight brush of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the very end of the practice, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner leading to the last turn on to the pit straight.
The veteran wrapped up in P19, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, 0.619secs off the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
