Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
The British driver has beaten his teammate at all of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the points lead from his teammate by one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, outpaced the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before sprint qualifying set to begin at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, sitting 36 points Norris, ended up in 17th place as his team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, albeit lightly, when he spun at Turn Four during the early running.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before sliding over the gravel trap, and was fortunate to escape with just a light touch of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the final moments of the session, rotating twice through the quick descending Mergulho turn approaching the final corner on to the pit straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, over half a second slower than Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
