Norris Tops Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session

The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Norris, who grabbed the points lead from Piastri by just one point after taking the win 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 quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.

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

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

Tsunoda lost control over the track edges before sliding over the gravel trap, and was blessed to escape with just a slight brush of the barrier.

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

Hamilton wrapped up in 19th, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.

Norris and Piastri were well clear of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber P3, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's best.

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