Norris Tops Piastri in Brazilian Practice

Lando Norris just pipped fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Norris, who grabbed the championship lead from his teammate by just one point after winning in Mexico City two weeks ago, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.

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

Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the championship fight, sitting 36 points behind behind Norris, was classified in 17th place as his team followed a alternative strategy.

Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to have an incident, if briefly, when he spun at the fourth corner soon after starting.

The Japanese spun out over the track edges before rotating through the run-off area, and was blessed to escape with just a minor contact of the fence.

The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill corner before the last turn on to the pit straight.

The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th place, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.

The McLaren pair were well clear of the rest of the field, with the German's car third fastest, 0.619 seconds off the Australian's time.

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