Norris Leads Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver just pipped fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the title advantage from Piastri by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City a fortnight back, outpaced the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before sprint qualifying scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the points battle, sitting with a 36-point deficit Norris, finished in 17th position as his team opted for a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, though minor, when he lost control at corner four during the early running.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before sliding over the gravel trap, and was fortunate to avoid just a minor contact of the wall.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho turn approaching the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th place, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, over half a second slower than Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
