Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at all of the last five race weekends.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the points lead from his teammate by one point after his victory in Mexico City recently, topped the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before the sprint shootout due at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in realistic title contention, trailing with a 36-point deficit Norris, ended up in 17th position as his team ran a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, albeit lightly, when he rotated at Turn Four soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the curbs on exit before spinning across the run-off area, and was fortunate to escape with just a slight brush of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the high-speed corner leading to the final bend on to the main straight.
Hamilton finished practice in 19th place, trailing teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were far ahead of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, 0.619secs behind Piastri's pace.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
