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Lando Norris edged out team-mate and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from his teammate by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, outpaced the Australian by a mere 0.023s.

Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before the sprint shootout due at 18:30 GMT.

Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, sitting 36 points behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his team opted for a alternative strategy.

His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, albeit lightly, when he lost control at the fourth corner early in the session.

The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before rotating through the gravel trap, and was blessed to get away with just a minor contact of the fence.

The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the conclusion of the practice, spinning around through the quick descending Mergulho turn approaching the final corner on to the start-finish straight.

The veteran finished practice in 19th, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.

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

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