Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored his teammate at each of the last five race weekends.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and title rival the Australian for the fastest time in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from his teammate by a single point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, topped the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before the sprint shootout due at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in the points battle, trailing 36 points Norris, ended up in 17th position as his team opted for a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he spun at the fourth corner during the early running.
Tsunoda slid over the curbs on exit before sliding over the escape zone, and was lucky to escape with just a light touch of the wall.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner before the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
Hamilton finished practice in 19th place, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with the German's car third fastest, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
