Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice

Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the quickest lap in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The British racer, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by just one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.

Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before sprint qualifying set to begin at 6:30 PM GMT.

The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the championship fight, lying with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his team opted for a unique setup.

His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to have an incident, if briefly, when he lost control at Turn Four soon after starting.

Tsunoda slid over the track edges before spinning across the gravel trap, and was fortunate to avoid just a minor contact of the fence.

The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the conclusion of the session, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho corner leading to the final bend on to the main straight.

Hamilton ended the session in 19th place, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.

Norris and Piastri were well clear of the rest of the field, with the German's Sauber P3, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's best.

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