Lando Norris Tops Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has beaten his teammate at each of the past five grands prix.
Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the title advantage from his teammate by one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, trailing 36 points behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his Red Bull team opted for a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to have an incident, though minor, when he rotated at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs 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 very end of the practice, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn approaching the final bend on to the main straight.
The veteran wrapped up in 19th place, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
