Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at all of the last five race weekends.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the points lead from Piastri by one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, topped the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before sprint qualifying set to begin at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his team ran a alternative strategy.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, albeit lightly, when he rotated at the fourth corner early in the session.
Tsunoda spun out over the track edges before sliding over the run-off area, and was blessed to escape with just a minor contact of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the very end of the session, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner before the last turn on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the other competitors, with the German's car third fastest, over half a second off Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
