Norris Leads Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has beaten his teammate at all of the past five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the top spot in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the championship lead from his teammate by one point after winning in Mexico City two weeks ago, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before sprint qualifying set to begin at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in the points battle, lying 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his team opted for a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to have an incident, though minor, when he lost control at Turn Four during the early running.
Tsunoda lost control over the curbs on exit before sliding over the gravel trap, and was fortunate to get away with just a light touch of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho corner before the final corner on to the main straight.
The veteran wrapped up in 19th, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber in third, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
