Norris Leads Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session

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

The British racer, who took the points lead from Piastri by 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 quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before the sprint shootout scheduled for 18:30 GMT.

Max Verstappen, the only other driver in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points Norris, ended up in 17th position as his team ran a alternative strategy.

His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to have an incident, albeit lightly, when he lost control at the fourth corner soon after starting.

Tsunoda spun out over the exit kerbs before sliding over the gravel trap, and was lucky to get away with just a light touch of the wall.

The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner before the final corner on to the main straight.

The seven-time champion ended the session in P19, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.

The McLaren drivers were well clear of the remaining drivers, with the German's car in third, over half a second behind Piastri's best.

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