Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
The British driver has outperformed his teammate at all of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the championship lead from his teammate by just one point after his victory in Mexico City recently, topped the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before the sprint shootout set to begin at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, lying 36 points behind Norris, finished in P17 as his team followed a alternative strategy.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to have an incident, albeit lightly, when he lost control at corner four during the early running.
Tsunoda spun out over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was fortunate to get away with just a light touch of the wall.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the very end of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho turn before the final bend on to the main straight.
The veteran ended the session in 19th, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, 0.619secs slower than the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
