Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
The British driver has outperformed Oscar Piastri at each of the past five grands prix.
The McLaren driver just pipped team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the quickest lap in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the title advantage from Piastri by a single point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, topped the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before the sprint shootout scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his Red Bull team ran a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, though minor, when he lost control at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese slid over the track edges before rotating through the run-off area, and was lucky to escape with just a light touch of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the very end of the practice, spinning around through the quick descending Mergulho turn before the final corner on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in 19th place, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, over half a second behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
