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The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Norris, who took the points lead from his teammate by a single point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.

Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair during the running before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.

Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the points battle, sitting 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th position as his team opted for a unique setup.

Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, if briefly, when he lost control at Turn Four early in the session.

The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before rotating through the run-off area, and was lucky to avoid just a slight brush of the barrier.

The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also spun, at the conclusion of the session, spinning around through the quick descending Mergulho turn before the final bend on to the start-finish straight.

Hamilton ended the session in 19th place, trailing team-mate the Monegasque driver.

Norris and Piastri were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, 0.619secs behind the Australian's time.

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