Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the last five race weekends.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the title advantage from his teammate by a single point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before the sprint shootout due at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in realistic title contention, sitting 36 points behind Norris, finished in P17 as his team ran a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, though minor, when he lost control at Turn Four soon after starting.
The Japanese spun out over the track edges before spinning across the run-off area, and was fortunate to get away with just a slight brush of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the conclusion of the session, turning around through the fast downhill corner before the final corner on to the pit straight.
The veteran wrapped up in 19th place, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the other competitors, with the German's car in third, over half a second slower than Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
