Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at all of the previous five race weekends.
The McLaren driver just pipped team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the championship lead from Piastri by one point after his victory in Mexico City recently, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the points battle, trailing 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his team opted for a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, though minor, when he lost control at the fourth corner soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the curbs on exit before spinning across the run-off area, and was blessed to escape with just a light touch of the fence.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the conclusion of the session, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho turn leading to the last turn on to the pit straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in P19, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, over half a second off the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.