Lando Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session

Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the top spot in the dying seconds of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The British racer, who took the points lead from Piastri by one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, beat the Australian by 0.023 seconds.

Before then, Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before the sprint shootout due at 18:30 GMT.

The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, trailing with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a alternative strategy.

His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he spun at corner four during the early running.

The Japanese lost control over the curbs on exit before spinning across the escape zone, and was fortunate to get away with just a light touch of the fence.

The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the conclusion of the session, rotating twice through the high-speed corner before the final corner on to the pit straight.

The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.

The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's best.

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