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The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the final moments of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Norris, who seized the points lead from his teammate by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City two weeks ago, beat the Australian by a mere 0.023s.

Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before sprint qualifying set to begin at 18:30 GMT.

The Red Bull star, the other racer in the championship fight, sitting 36 points behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his Red Bull team followed a alternative strategy.

Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, though minor, when he spun at corner four early in the session.

The Japanese spun out over the track edges before sliding over the escape zone, and was fortunate to get away with just a light touch of the fence.

The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner approaching the final corner on to the pit straight.

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

Norris and Piastri were well clear of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber P3, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's pace.

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