Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has outperformed his teammate at all of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the championship lead from Piastri by just one point after winning in Mexico City recently, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before the sprint shootout scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the championship fight, trailing 36 points Norris, finished in 17th position as his Red Bull team opted for a alternative strategy.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, albeit lightly, when he spun at corner four early in the session.
The Japanese slid over the exit kerbs before rotating through the escape zone, and was lucky to escape with just a minor contact of the wall.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the very end of the session, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner before the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th place, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber in third, over half a second off the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
