Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at each of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the points lead from his teammate by one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before sprint qualifying due at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the championship fight, lying with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, was classified in 17th place as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, albeit lightly, when he spun at corner four during the early running.
The Japanese spun out over the curbs on exit before rotating through the run-off area, and was blessed to escape with just a light touch of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the conclusion of the practice, rotating twice through the quick descending corner before the final bend on to the pit straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in P19, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber P3, 0.619secs behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
