Lando Norris Tops Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session

Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Norris, who seized the points lead from Piastri by one point after his victory in Mexico City recently, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.

Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying due at 18:30 GMT.

Max Verstappen, the other racer in realistic title contention, trailing with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his team followed a unique setup.

Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he spun at corner four during the early running.

The Japanese slid over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was fortunate to avoid just a minor contact of the barrier.

Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the very end of the session, turning around through the high-speed corner before the last turn on to the start-finish straight.

The seven-time champion ended the session in P19, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.

The McLaren drivers were well clear of the rest of the field, with the German's Sauber P3, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's best.

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