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The McLaren driver edged out team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the quickest lap in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

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

Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair for most of the session before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.

The Red Bull star, the other racer in the championship fight, sitting 36 points behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his team opted for a unique setup.

His teammate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, albeit lightly, when he lost control at Turn Four early in the session.

The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before sliding over the escape zone, and was fortunate to get away with just a minor contact of the fence.

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the very end of the session, spinning around through the quick descending corner before the final bend on to the start-finish straight.

The veteran finished practice in 19th, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.

The McLaren drivers were well clear of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, 0.619secs off Piastri's pace.

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