Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
The British driver has beaten his teammate at all of the last five race weekends.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the top spot in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the title advantage from Piastri by a single point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before the sprint shootout set to begin at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he lost control at corner four during the early running.
The Japanese slid over the curbs on exit before sliding over the gravel trap, and was blessed to avoid just a light touch of the fence.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also spun, at the conclusion of the session, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho turn leading to the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in 19th place, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.