Lando Norris Tops Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session

The McLaren driver just pipped fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Norris, who took the title advantage from Piastri by just one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.

Until that point, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before sprint qualifying scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.

Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, lying 36 points behind behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his team opted for a unique setup.

His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, albeit lightly, when he rotated at Turn Four soon after starting.

The Japanese lost control over the curbs on exit before rotating through the run-off area, and was lucky to escape with just a minor contact of the barrier.

Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, spinning around through the high-speed corner before the final bend on to the main straight.

The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.

The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the rest of the field, with the German's car third fastest, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's best.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.