Lando Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the past five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the dying seconds of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the title advantage from Piastri by one point after winning in Mexico City a fortnight back, topped the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before the sprint shootout due at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, sitting with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his Red Bull team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, albeit lightly, when he lost control at Turn Four soon after starting.
Tsunoda lost control over the exit kerbs before sliding over the gravel trap, and was fortunate to escape with just a slight brush of the wall.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the final moments of the session, spinning around through the quick descending corner approaching the last turn on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, 0.619 seconds slower than the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
