Lando Norris Leads Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the last five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the title advantage from his teammate by just one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before sprint qualifying scheduled for the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the points battle, lying 36 points Norris, was classified in P17 as his team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, albeit lightly, when he lost control at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the track edges before spinning across the run-off area, and was blessed to get away with just a minor contact of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the conclusion of the session, rotating twice through the quick descending Mergulho turn before the final bend on to the pit straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in 19th, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber in third, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
