Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session

The McLaren driver narrowly beat fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The British racer, who seized the title advantage from Piastri by one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, topped the Australian by a mere 0.023s.

Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before sprint qualifying due at the evening session.

Max Verstappen, the only other driver in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his Red Bull team followed a different programme.

His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, if briefly, when he spun at corner four soon after starting.

The Japanese slid over the track edges before spinning across the escape zone, and was lucky to get away with just a light touch of the barrier.

The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, rotating twice through the quick descending Mergulho turn before the final bend on to the main straight.

Hamilton wrapped up in P19, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.

The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the other competitors, with the German's car in third, over half a second slower than Piastri's best.

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