Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice

The McLaren driver narrowly beat fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Norris, who grabbed 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 leading McLaren for most of the session before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.

Max Verstappen, the other racer in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points Norris, finished in P17 as his Red Bull team opted for a alternative strategy.

Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, though minor, when he rotated at the fourth corner soon after starting.

Tsunoda lost control over the track edges before spinning across the run-off area, and was lucky to get away with just a slight brush of the barrier.

Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the conclusion of the session, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn before the last turn on to the main straight.

Hamilton finished practice in 19th place, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.

Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with the German's car third fastest, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's best.

The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.