Norris Leads Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session

Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the dying seconds of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Norris, who grabbed the points lead from Piastri by one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.

Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before the sprint shootout due at the evening session.

Max Verstappen, the only other driver 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 have an incident, though minor, when he spun at Turn Four during the early running.

The Japanese lost control over the track edges before spinning across the run-off area, and was fortunate to get away with just a minor contact of the barrier.

Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the final moments of the session, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho corner leading to the final bend on to the pit straight.

The veteran wrapped up in 19th place, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.

The McLaren drivers were well clear of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, 0.619secs behind Piastri's best.

The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.