Lando Norris Tops Piastri in Brazilian Practice

Lando Norris edged out team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The British racer, who grabbed the title advantage from his teammate by a single point after winning in Mexico City a fortnight back, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.

Until that point, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before the sprint shootout set to begin at the evening session.

Max Verstappen, the other racer in the championship fight, lying 36 points behind behind Norris, ended up in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a alternative strategy.

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

Tsunoda lost control over the exit kerbs before rotating through the escape zone, and was fortunate to escape with just a light touch of the fence.

The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the conclusion of the session, rotating twice through the high-speed corner approaching the final bend on to the pit straight.

The seven-time champion ended the session in P19, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.

Norris and Piastri were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's best.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.