Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has beaten his teammate at each of the past five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from Piastri by just one point after winning in Mexico City two weeks ago, beat the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before the sprint shootout set to begin at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, lying 36 points behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his team ran a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, though minor, when he spun at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before sliding over the run-off area, and was fortunate to get away with just a light touch of the fence.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the final moments of the session, spinning around through the high-speed corner before the last turn on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in 19th place, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber P3, 0.619 seconds off the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
