Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has outscored his teammate at all of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the points lead from Piastri by one point after winning in Mexico City two weeks ago, beat the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before the sprint shootout set to begin 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 place as his Red Bull team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, if briefly, when he spun at Turn Four early in the session.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before rotating through the run-off area, and was blessed to escape with just a light touch of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the final moments of the practice, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner leading to the final bend on to the pit straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the rest of the field, with the German's Sauber P3, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
