Norris Leads Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has outperformed his teammate at each of the past five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the points lead from Piastri by one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before the sprint shootout due at 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the championship fight, lying with a 36-point deficit Norris, finished in 17th position as his team ran a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he spun at the fourth corner soon after starting.
Tsunoda spun out over the exit kerbs before spinning across the escape zone, and was blessed to avoid just a light touch of the wall.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the final moments of the practice, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn leading to the final bend on to the pit straight.
The veteran wrapped up in P19, trailing teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber P3, over half a second slower than Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
