Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has outscored his teammate at each of the previous five race weekends.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the dying seconds of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the points lead from his teammate by one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before sprint qualifying scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points behind behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his team opted for a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, though minor, when he lost control at the fourth corner early in the session.
The Japanese slid over the curbs on exit before rotating through the run-off area, and was blessed to escape with just a light touch of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn before the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in 19th place, trailing teammate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the remaining drivers, with the German's car in third, 0.619 seconds slower than the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
