Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has outperformed his teammate at each of the last five grands prix.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the top spot in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the points lead from his teammate by one point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before sprint qualifying due at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in the points battle, sitting with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, ended up in 17th place as his team opted for a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, if briefly, when he spun at Turn Four soon after starting.
Tsunoda slid over the curbs on exit before spinning across the escape zone, and was blessed to get away with just a minor contact of the wall.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the final moments of the session, spinning around through the quick descending Mergulho turn approaching the final corner on to the main straight.
The veteran ended the session in P19, trailing teammate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, 0.619secs behind Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
