Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session

Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The British racer, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.

Before then, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.

The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, sitting with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a different programme.

His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to have an incident, albeit lightly, when he lost control at Turn Four soon after starting.

Tsunoda lost control over the exit kerbs before spinning across the gravel trap, and was lucky to get away with just a slight brush of the wall.

The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the final moments of the practice, turning around through the high-speed corner approaching the final bend on to the main straight.

The veteran wrapped up in 19th, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.

Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's best.

Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.