Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session

Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Norris, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by just one point after his victory in Mexico City a fortnight back, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.

Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before sprint qualifying set to begin at 6:30 PM GMT.

The Red Bull star, the other racer in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th place as his team opted for a unique setup.

His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he lost control at corner four during the early running.

Tsunoda slid over the track edges before spinning across the escape zone, and was fortunate to avoid just a light touch of the barrier.

The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the conclusion of the session, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho corner leading to the final bend on to the main straight.

The veteran wrapped up in 19th, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.

The McLaren pair were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, over half a second behind Piastri's pace.

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