Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at each of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the title advantage from Piastri by just one point after his victory in Mexico City recently, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before the sprint shootout due at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, lying with a 36-point deficit Norris, was classified in 17th place as his Red Bull team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, albeit lightly, when he spun at corner four early in the session.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before rotating through the escape zone, and was lucky to avoid just a light touch of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the high-speed corner before the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in P19, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the remaining drivers, with the German's car P3, 0.619secs behind Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
