Lando Norris Tops Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at each of the past five race weekends.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the points lead from his teammate by one point after winning in Mexico City recently, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the championship fight, sitting 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, albeit lightly, when he lost control at Turn Four early in the session.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before sliding over the run-off area, and was lucky to avoid just a minor contact of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the very end of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill corner before the last turn on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber P3, 0.619 seconds off the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.