Norris Leads Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at all of the last five grands prix.
Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Before then, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before the sprint shootout scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his Red Bull team ran a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, albeit lightly, when he spun at corner four early in the session.
Tsunoda slid over the track edges before sliding over the run-off area, and was blessed to get away with just a minor contact of the fence.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the final moments of the session, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner leading to the final bend on to the pit straight.
The veteran finished practice in P19, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, over half a second off the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
