Lando Norris Tops Piastri in Brazilian Practice

Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The British racer, who seized the championship lead from his teammate by one point after taking the win in Mexico City a fortnight back, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.

Before then, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before the sprint shootout due at 6:30 PM GMT.

The Red Bull star, the only other driver in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind Norris, finished in P17 as his team ran a alternative strategy.

Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, if briefly, when he spun at Turn Four during the early running.

The Japanese spun out over the track edges before rotating through the escape zone, and was blessed to get away with just a slight brush of the barrier.

The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the very end of the session, turning around through the quick descending corner before the final bend on to the main straight.

Hamilton finished practice in P19, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Norris and Piastri were well clear of the other competitors, with the German's car in third, over half a second behind Piastri's pace.

The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.