Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session

Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the fastest time in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Norris, who took the title advantage from Piastri by a single point after his victory in Mexico City a fortnight back, outpaced the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.

Until that point, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before the sprint shootout scheduled for 18:30 GMT.

The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, sitting with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his team opted for a different programme.

Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, though minor, when he lost control at corner four early in the session.

The Japanese spun out over the curbs on exit before sliding over the run-off area, and was lucky to avoid just a minor contact of the fence.

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho turn before the final corner on to the start-finish straight.

The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th place, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.

Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, over half a second slower than Piastri's best.

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