Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
The British driver has outperformed his teammate at each of the past five grands prix.
The McLaren driver just pipped fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the fastest time in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the title advantage from his teammate by just one point after taking the win in Mexico City a fortnight back, topped the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before sprint qualifying set to begin at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, sitting 36 points Norris, was classified in 17th position as his team followed a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, albeit lightly, when he rotated at the fourth corner early in the session.
Tsunoda slid over the exit kerbs before rotating through the run-off area, and was blessed to avoid just a slight brush of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho turn before the last turn on to the pit straight.
The veteran ended the session in 19th place, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber P3, over half a second off the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
