Norris Tops Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
The British driver has beaten his teammate at all of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the title advantage from his teammate by a single point after winning in Mexico City two weeks ago, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before the sprint shootout set to begin at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he rotated at the fourth corner early in the session.
The Japanese lost control over the track edges before sliding over the escape zone, and was blessed to escape with just a light touch of the fence.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the conclusion of the session, rotating twice through the quick descending corner before the final bend on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th place, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber P3, over half a second slower than Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
