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Lando Norris 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 Piastri by a single point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.

Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before the sprint shootout due at the evening session.

The Red Bull star, the only other driver in the points battle, lying 36 points behind Norris, was classified in 17th place as his Red Bull team ran a different programme.

Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to have an incident, if briefly, when he lost control at the fourth corner soon after starting.

Tsunoda spun out over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was blessed to escape with just a minor contact of the wall.

The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the very end of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill corner approaching the final corner on to the pit straight.

The seven-time champion ended the session in P19, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.

The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, over half a second behind Piastri's pace.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto fifth from Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Sainz.