Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session

The McLaren driver just pipped fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Norris, who seized the championship lead from his teammate by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.

Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before sprint qualifying set to begin at 18:30 GMT.

Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his Red Bull team ran a alternative strategy.

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

Tsunoda lost control over the exit kerbs before rotating through the gravel trap, and was blessed to avoid just a minor contact of the fence.

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

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

The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber in third, 0.619 seconds slower than the Australian's time.

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