Norris Leads Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at all of the past five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the dying seconds 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 taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before the sprint shootout due at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, sitting 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, though minor, when he spun at Turn Four early in the session.
Tsunoda spun out over the curbs on exit before sliding over the gravel trap, and was blessed to avoid just a light touch of the wall.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the very end of the session, turning around through the fast downhill corner before the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in P19, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with the German's car third fastest, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
