Norris Leads Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has outperformed his teammate at each of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver just pipped team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by one point after winning in Mexico City a fortnight back, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Before then, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before sprint qualifying set to begin at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the championship fight, lying 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th place as his team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he spun at the fourth corner early in the session.
Tsunoda spun out over the curbs on exit before rotating through the escape zone, and was lucky to escape with just a light touch of the fence.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the very end of the practice, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner before the final bend on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the rest of the field, with the German's car in third, 0.619secs off Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
