Norris Leads Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session

Lando Norris just pipped fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The British racer, who took the title advantage from his teammate by just one point after his victory in Mexico City recently, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.

Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.

Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, lying with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his team opted for a different programme.

His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he rotated at Turn Four soon after starting.

The Japanese spun out over the track edges before sliding over the escape zone, and was blessed to avoid just a minor contact of the fence.

Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the conclusion of the session, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner approaching the final corner on to the start-finish straight.

Hamilton finished practice in 19th place, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, 0.619secs slower than the Australian's time.

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