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Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the fastest time in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Norris, who seized the title advantage from his teammate by just one point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.

Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before the sprint shootout due at the evening session.

Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, trailing 36 points behind behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his Red Bull team followed a unique setup.

His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, albeit lightly, when he rotated at Turn Four soon after starting.

The Japanese spun out over the curbs on exit before rotating through the run-off area, and was lucky to avoid just a light touch of the barrier.

Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the very end of the session, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner leading to the final corner on to the pit straight.

The veteran ended the session in 19th place, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.

The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the other competitors, with the German's car third fastest, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's best.

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