Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has outscored his teammate at each of the last five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the championship lead from Piastri by one point after winning in Mexico City two weeks ago, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before the sprint shootout set to begin at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in the points battle, trailing 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his team ran a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, if briefly, when he spun at Turn Four during the early running.
Tsunoda lost control over the curbs on exit before sliding over the escape zone, and was blessed to avoid just a slight brush of the fence.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn leading to the last turn on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran ended the session in 19th, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with the German's car P3, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
