Norris nine points clear after Piastri crashes in Sao Paulo sprint

SAO PAULO :Lando Norris stretched his Formula One championship lead to nine points after winning Saturday's Sao Paulo sprint while McLaren teammate and title rival Oscar Piastri crashed in a big blow to the Australian's bid to get back on top.

The pair had started the day, in tricky conditions and a drying track at Interlagos, separated by a single point with Norris on pole position and Piastri third on the grid.

The 24-year-old Piastri's hopes disappeared on lap six of 24, another huge moment in a championship of fine margins, when he lost control on the wet kerb at turn three.

The McLaren spun into the barriers, closely followed off by Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Alpine's Franco Colapinto.

The race was then halted on lap eight after the safety car was deployed, resuming with a rolling start after barrier repairs and Norris leading the field to the flag with Mercedes's Kimi Antonelli and George Russell in his slipstream.

BORTOLETO CRASHES ON LAST LAP

Antonelli threatened to get past Norris, closing the gap to less than a second on medium tyres to the Briton's softs, but had to settle for second when Sauber's home hero Gabriel Bortoleto crashed heavily at the start of the final lap, triggering double yellow warning flags.

The Brazilian, whose car went airborne and careered into the walls on both sides of the track in a scary crash, reported over the radio that he was unhurt.

He was taken to the medical centre and released, then he ran down the pitlane to the Sauber garage.

Antonelli took the chequered flag 0.845 behind Norris, with Russell third and Mercedes regaining second place overall from Ferrari.

"It was tough. It makes the win more rewarding when you have a race like this," said Norris.

"Not an easy race but it's always a