Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at all of the past five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the championship lead from his teammate by a single point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, topped the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before sprint qualifying set to begin at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in realistic title contention, sitting with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his team opted for a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, if briefly, when he lost control at Turn Four early in the session.
Tsunoda lost control over the track edges before rotating through the escape zone, and was fortunate to avoid just a light touch of the fence.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the final moments of the session, rotating twice through the fast downhill corner leading to the final corner on to the pit straight.
Hamilton finished practice in P19, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the other competitors, with the German's car in third, over half a second behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
