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The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and title rival the Australian for the quickest lap in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Norris, who grabbed the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, beat the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.

Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before sprint qualifying scheduled for the evening session.

The Red Bull star, the other racer in realistic title contention, sitting 36 points behind behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his Red Bull team followed a unique setup.

Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, albeit lightly, when he spun at Turn Four early in the session.

Tsunoda spun out over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was lucky to avoid just a light touch of the wall.

Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the quick descending Mergulho corner before the last turn on to the main straight.

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

The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, 0.619secs off the Australian's time.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.