Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has outscored his teammate at all of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the top spot in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the championship lead from his teammate by just one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before sprint qualifying set to begin at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the points battle, lying 36 points behind behind Norris, ended up in 17th place as his team ran a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, if briefly, when he lost control at corner four during the early running.
The Japanese slid over the exit kerbs before sliding over the gravel trap, and was lucky to avoid just a light touch of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the conclusion of the practice, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn leading to the final bend on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in 19th, just behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with the German's car P3, over half a second off the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
