Sao Paulo Grand Prix: Lando Norris heads Oscar Piastri in Interlagos practice

Lando Norris pipped McLaren team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri to the fastest time at the very end of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Norris, who took the championship lead from Piastri by one point following his win in Mexico City two weeks ago, beat the Australian by 0.023secs.

Until then, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour of running before sprint qualifying at 18:30 GMT.

Max Verstappen, the only other driver in realistic title contention, 36 points behind Norris, was down in 17th place as his Red Bull team ran a different programme.

Verstappen’s team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, albeit lightly, when he spun at Turn Four early in the session.

The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was fortunate to get away with just a light touch of the barrier.

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the very end of the session, rotating twice coming through the fast downhill Mergulho corner leading to the final corner on to the pit straight.

The seven-time champion ended the session 19th, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.

The McLaren drivers were well clear of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber third fastest, 0.619secs off Piastri’s pace.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes’ George Russell and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Williams’ Carlos Sainz.