Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session

The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The British racer, who seized the points lead from Piastri by one point after winning in Mexico City recently, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.

Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before the sprint shootout scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.

The Red Bull star, the other racer in the points battle, lying 36 points Norris, was classified in P17 as his Red Bull team ran a alternative strategy.

Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, albeit lightly, when he spun at corner four early in the session.

Tsunoda slid over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was blessed to escape with just a slight brush of the barrier.

Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the very end of the practice, spinning around through the quick descending Mergulho corner approaching the last turn on to the main straight.

The veteran wrapped up in 19th, trailing teammate Charles Leclerc.

The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber in third, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's pace.

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