'One bumpy ride': Norris fastest in sole practice for Sao Paulo Grand Prix
Mercedes's George Russell was second fastest and Haas stand-in Oliver Bearman an impressive third.
Bearman, the Ferrari reserve who will take a regular race seat at Haas next season, was replacing the unwell Kevin Magnussen at the US-owned team.
Title contender Norris, 47 points behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen, lapped the anti-clockwise circuit with a best time of one minute 10.610 seconds on the soft tyre - 0.181 quicker than Russell and 0.195 faster than Bearman.
"That was one bumpy ride," said Russell of the session.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri was fourth fastest and Williams' Alex Albon fifth, ahead of Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Verstappen, who will have a five-place grid penalty on Sunday after exceeding his engine allocation, was only 15th with Mercedes' seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton 16th.
Brazil is a sprint weekend and Friday has only one practice session with sprint qualifying held later.
