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The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The British racer, who seized the championship lead from his teammate by a single point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.

Before then, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before the sprint shootout scheduled for the evening session.

The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, lying with a 36-point deficit Norris, ended up in 17th position as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.

Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to have an incident, albeit lightly, when he rotated at Turn Four early in the session.

Tsunoda lost control over the track edges before sliding over the gravel trap, and was blessed to avoid just a slight brush of the fence.

The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the conclusion of the practice, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho turn approaching the final bend on to the start-finish straight.

The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th place, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.

Norris and Piastri were well clear of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, 0.619secs behind Piastri's pace.

The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.