Lando Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session

The McLaren driver just pipped fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The British racer, who took the title advantage from Piastri by a single point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, topped the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.

Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before the sprint shootout due at 6:30 PM GMT.

Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, sitting 36 points behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his team followed a different programme.

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

The Japanese lost control over the curbs on exit before spinning across the escape zone, and was fortunate to escape with just a light touch of the barrier.

The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn approaching the final bend on to the start-finish straight.

Hamilton ended the session in 19th place, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.

The McLaren pair were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's pace.

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