Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at each of the past five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the title advantage from his teammate by a single point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before the sprint shootout due at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, sitting with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he rotated at the fourth corner early in the session.
Tsunoda spun out over the curbs on exit before spinning across the escape zone, and was fortunate to get away with just a light touch of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the final moments of the practice, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner leading to the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th place, trailing teammate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.