McLaren, meanwhile, have said that if the race develops in such a way that Piastri is out of contention but Norris needs to gain a place to win the title, they will ask the Australian to help out.
While Verstappen appeared to be lagging a little behind Norris on single-lap pace, the race simulations later in the session offered a different picture.
These runs are usually a more accurate picture of competitiveness as there is less possibility for the teams to play with car specification.
On the race runs, Norris was still faster than Verstappen – but only by hundredths of a second, not 10ths.
Piastri, though, was again not quite in the same ballpark as his rivals.
On headline times, Mercedes’ George Russell was third fastest, from Haas driver Oliver Bearman, who said over the radio that he could not believe just how good the car was feeling.
Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto were fifth and sixth in Sauber’s final race before they morph into Audi for the German manufacturer’s debut season in F1.
Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar was seventh in his final race before his promotion to Red Bull in 2026, followed by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and the second Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton was 14th.