Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice

The McLaren driver just pipped team-mate and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The British racer, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by just one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, beat the Australian by 0.023 seconds.

Before then, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before the sprint shootout scheduled for 18:30 GMT.

Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his Red Bull team opted for a different programme.

Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, if briefly, when he rotated at the fourth corner soon after starting.

The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was lucky to avoid just a slight brush of the barrier.

The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the final moments of the practice, turning around through the quick descending Mergulho turn before the final bend on to the start-finish straight.

Hamilton ended the session in P19, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.

The McLaren pair were far ahead of the rest of the field, with the German's car P3, over half a second behind Piastri's pace.

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