Norris Tops Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
The British driver has outperformed Oscar Piastri at each of the last five grands prix.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the title advantage from his teammate by a single point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in realistic title contention, trailing with a 36-point deficit Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, if briefly, when he spun at corner four early in the session.
Tsunoda slid over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was fortunate to get away with just a light touch of the fence.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the very end of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho corner leading to the final bend on to the pit straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th place, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the rest of the field, with the German's Sauber in third, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.