Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at all of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and title rival the Australian for the fastest time in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the title advantage from Piastri by just one point after winning in Mexico City a fortnight back, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before sprint qualifying scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the points battle, lying 36 points behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, though minor, when he rotated at corner four early in the session.
Tsunoda slid over the curbs on exit before rotating through the gravel trap, and was blessed to escape with just a slight brush of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner leading to the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran ended the session in 19th place, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber in third, over half a second off Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
