Lando Norris Leads Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has beaten his teammate at each of the past five race weekends.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the title advantage from Piastri by one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, topped the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before the sprint shootout due at 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, lying 36 points behind behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his team followed a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, though minor, when he lost control at Turn Four soon after starting.
Tsunoda slid over the exit kerbs before rotating through the run-off area, and was fortunate to escape with just a slight brush of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the final moments of the session, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn approaching the final corner on to the pit straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in P19, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber P3, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
