Norris Edges Out 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 fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the title advantage from his teammate by just one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team followed a alternative strategy.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he rotated at the fourth corner during the early running.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before sliding over the gravel trap, and was lucky to escape with just a minor contact of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the final moments of the session, spinning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner leading to the final bend on to the main straight.
Hamilton ended the session in P19, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the rest of the field, with the German's car third fastest, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
