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Lando Norris edged out team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the fastest time in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The British racer, who seized the title advantage from his teammate by just one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.

Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before the sprint shootout due at 18:30 GMT.

The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, sitting with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his team followed a alternative strategy.

Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, albeit lightly, when he lost control at corner four early in the session.

Tsunoda spun out over the track edges before rotating through the run-off area, and was blessed to avoid just a slight brush of the fence.

Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the conclusion of the session, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho turn leading to the final bend on to the start-finish straight.

The veteran finished practice in 19th, trailing teammate Charles Leclerc.

The McLaren drivers were well clear of the rest of the field, with the German's Sauber third fastest, 0.619 seconds slower than the Australian's time.

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