Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the last five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the points lead from his teammate by just one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before sprint qualifying scheduled for the evening session.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his Red Bull team ran a unique setup.
His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he rotated at Turn Four early in the session.
The Japanese spun out over the track edges before rotating through the gravel trap, and was fortunate to escape with just a light touch of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the conclusion of the session, turning around through the high-speed corner leading to the final corner on to the pit straight.
Hamilton finished practice in P19, trailing teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber third fastest, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
