Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has outperformed Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five race weekends.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and title rival the Australian for the fastest time in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, sitting with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, finished in P17 as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to have an incident, though minor, when he lost control at Turn Four during the early running.
The Japanese spun out over the curbs on exit before rotating through the run-off area, and was fortunate to get away with just a minor contact of the fence.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, rotating twice through the high-speed corner before the final bend on to the main straight.
The veteran wrapped up in P19, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, over half a second slower than the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
