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The McLaren driver just pipped fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The British racer, who seized the championship lead from his teammate by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City a fortnight back, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.

Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before the sprint shootout due at the evening session.

The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the championship fight, lying with a 36-point deficit Norris, ended up in 17th position as his team opted for a different programme.

Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, albeit lightly, when he spun at the fourth corner during the early running.

Tsunoda spun out over the curbs on exit before rotating through the escape zone, and was blessed to get away with just a minor contact of the barrier.

The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the very end of the session, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho corner before the final corner on to the pit straight.

The seven-time champion finished practice in 19th, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.

The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, over half a second slower than Piastri's best.

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