Lando Norris Leads Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has outperformed Oscar Piastri at each of the last five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the championship lead from Piastri by one point after taking the win in Mexico City two weeks ago, beat the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before the sprint shootout set to begin at 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in the championship fight, sitting with a 36-point deficit Norris, ended up in P17 as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, if briefly, when he spun at corner four during the early running.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was fortunate to escape with just a minor contact of the fence.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the very end of the session, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn leading to the last turn on to the pit straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th place, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, 0.619 seconds off the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
