Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has beaten his teammate at each of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the points lead from his teammate by a single point after winning in Mexico City two weeks ago, topped the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before sprint qualifying scheduled for the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, lying 36 points Norris, finished in 17th place as his team opted for a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, if briefly, when he spun at the fourth corner during the early running.
The Japanese lost control over the track edges before spinning across the gravel trap, and was fortunate to get away with just a minor contact of the fence.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the conclusion of the practice, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho corner approaching the final bend on to the pit straight.
Hamilton finished practice in 19th place, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with the German's car P3, over half a second slower than Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
