Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at all of the last five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the dying seconds of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the title advantage from his teammate by just one point after winning in Mexico City two weeks ago, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before the sprint shootout set to begin at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the championship fight, lying 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his Red Bull team followed a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, if briefly, when he spun at Turn Four soon after starting.
The Japanese spun out over the curbs on exit before spinning across the run-off area, and was lucky to get away with just a light touch of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the final moments of the session, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho corner before the final bend on to the pit straight.
Hamilton finished practice in P19, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the remaining drivers, with the German's car P3, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
