Norris Leads Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice

The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the fastest time in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The British racer, who took the title advantage from his teammate by one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.

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

Max Verstappen, the other racer in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his team ran a alternative strategy.

Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to have an incident, though minor, when he rotated at corner four during the early running.

The Japanese slid over the exit kerbs before spinning across the escape zone, and was blessed to escape with just a light touch of the barrier.

Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the very end of the practice, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn approaching the final corner on to the main straight.

The seven-time champion finished practice in P19, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Norris and Piastri were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, over half a second behind the Australian's time.

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