Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
The British driver has outscored his teammate at all of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the title advantage from Piastri by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before sprint qualifying set to begin at 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the only other driver in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he lost control at corner four during the early running.
The Japanese spun out over the curbs on exit before spinning across the gravel trap, and was lucky to escape with just a minor contact of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the very end of the session, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner before the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in P19, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber third fastest, 0.619 seconds behind the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.