🔗 Share this article Lando Norris Tops Piastri in Brazilian Practice The British driver has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five grands prix. Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and title rival the Australian for the fastest time in the final moments of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Norris, who grabbed the points lead from Piastri by just one point after his victory in Mexico City two weeks ago, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs. Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before sprint qualifying set to begin at 18:30 GMT. Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, sitting with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, was classified in 17th place as his team opted for a alternative strategy. Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he spun at the fourth corner soon after starting. The Japanese spun out over the track edges before rotating through the escape zone, and was lucky to escape with just a minor contact of the wall. The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the final moments of the session, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn approaching the final corner on to the start-finish straight. The veteran ended the session in 19th place, trailing teammate Charles Leclerc. The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's pace. The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.