Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has outscored his teammate at all of the past five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from his teammate by one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, beat the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before sprint qualifying scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, sitting with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his Red Bull team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, though minor, when he rotated at corner four during the early running.
The Japanese lost control over the curbs on exit before sliding over the gravel trap, and was fortunate to escape with just a slight brush of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the final moments of the session, rotating twice through the quick descending Mergulho turn approaching the last turn on to the start-finish straight.
Hamilton finished practice in P19, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
