Lando Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outscored his teammate at each of the past five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the championship lead from his teammate by a single point after his victory in Mexico City recently, topped the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, trailing with a 36-point deficit Norris, was classified in 17th position as his team opted for a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to have an incident, albeit lightly, when he spun at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before sliding over the escape zone, and was blessed to escape with just a light touch of the wall.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the conclusion of the session, spinning around through the quick descending corner before the last turn on to the pit straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber third fastest, 0.619 seconds slower than the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
