Lando Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has beaten his teammate at all of the previous five race weekends.
The McLaren driver just pipped team-mate and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the points lead from his teammate by a single point after winning in Mexico City recently, topped the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before sprint qualifying due at the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, sitting 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, though minor, when he lost control at corner four during the early running.
The Japanese slid over the exit kerbs before rotating through the escape zone, and was blessed to get away with just a slight brush of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the very end of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho corner leading to the last turn on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran wrapped up in P19, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber P3, over half a second behind Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
