Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has outscored his teammate at each of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the championship lead from his teammate by one point after taking the win in Mexico City a fortnight back, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Before then, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before sprint qualifying scheduled for the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, sitting 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his Red Bull team ran a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he lost control at the fourth corner soon after starting.
The Japanese spun out over the curbs on exit before rotating through the escape zone, and was fortunate to get away with just a slight brush of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the conclusion of the session, turning around through the quick descending Mergulho turn leading to the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran ended the session in P19, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with the German's car P3, over half a second slower than Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
