Lando Norris Leads Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has outperformed his teammate at each of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the title advantage from Piastri by just one point after his victory in Mexico City two weeks ago, topped the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before the sprint shootout set to begin at 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in realistic title contention, trailing with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, was classified in 17th place as his Red Bull team ran a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, though minor, when he rotated at the fourth corner early in the session.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before sliding over the gravel trap, and was blessed to get away with just a light touch of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the conclusion of the practice, rotating twice through the quick descending Mergulho corner before the last turn on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in P19, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the rest of the field, with the German's car P3, over half a second behind the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
