Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
The British driver has beaten his teammate at each of the past five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by one point after his victory in Mexico City two weeks ago, topped the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his team ran a alternative strategy.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, though minor, when he spun at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the track edges before spinning across the escape zone, and was fortunate to escape with just a light touch of the fence.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the very end of the practice, rotating twice through the quick descending Mergulho corner before the last turn on to the pit straight.
The veteran finished practice in 19th, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, 0.619secs behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
