Lando Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the past five race weekends.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the quickest lap in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the title advantage from his teammate by one point after his victory in Mexico City two weeks ago, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, sitting with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his team followed a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to have an incident, albeit lightly, when he rotated at corner four early in the session.
Tsunoda spun out over the exit kerbs before sliding over the escape zone, and was blessed to get away with just a slight brush of the fence.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the very end of the practice, spinning around through the fast downhill corner approaching the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
Hamilton wrapped up in 19th, trailing teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, 0.619secs behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
