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The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the dying seconds of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Norris, who grabbed the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City a fortnight back, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.

Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before sprint qualifying set to begin at the evening session.

The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, trailing with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, was classified in 17th position as his team opted for a different programme.

Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to go off, albeit lightly, when he lost control at corner four soon after starting.

Tsunoda lost control over the curbs on exit before rotating through the gravel trap, and was fortunate to get away with just a minor contact of the barrier.

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the very end of the practice, rotating twice through the high-speed corner before the final bend on to the pit straight.

The veteran wrapped up in 19th, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.

The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with the German's car in third, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's best.

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