Lando Norris Tops Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has outscored his teammate at each of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the championship lead from Piastri by just one point after taking the win in Mexico City a fortnight back, beat the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before the sprint shootout set to begin at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, trailing with a 36-point deficit Norris, was classified in P17 as his Red Bull team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, if briefly, when he rotated at Turn Four soon after starting.
The Japanese slid over the track edges before sliding over the escape zone, and was lucky to avoid just a slight brush of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the final moments of the session, rotating twice through the quick descending Mergulho corner before the final corner on to the main straight.
The veteran ended the session in P19, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber third fastest, over half a second slower than the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
