Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session

Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the top spot in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Norris, who seized the title advantage from his teammate by one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, beat the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.

Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before sprint qualifying scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.

The Red Bull star, the only other driver in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points behind behind Norris, ended up in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a different programme.

Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, though minor, when he rotated at the fourth corner during the early running.

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

Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the final moments of the practice, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho corner approaching the final bend on to the main straight.

The seven-time champion wrapped up in 19th place, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.

The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, 0.619secs behind Piastri's pace.

The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.