Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five race weekends.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying set to begin at 18:30 GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his Red Bull team opted for a different programme.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, albeit lightly, when he rotated at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese spun out over the track edges before spinning across the gravel trap, and was fortunate to escape with just a minor contact of the fence.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the conclusion of the session, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn leading to the final bend on to the start-finish straight.
The veteran ended the session in 19th place, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the rest of the field, with the German's Sauber third fastest, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.