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Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the dying seconds of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Norris, who grabbed the championship lead from his teammate by just one point after winning in Mexico City recently, beat the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.

Until that point, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before the sprint shootout due at 18:30 GMT.

The Red Bull star, the other racer in the points battle, lying 36 points behind behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his team followed a unique setup.

Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to go off, albeit lightly, when he rotated at corner four soon after starting.

The Japanese slid over the track edges before spinning across the escape zone, and was blessed to get away with just a light touch of the barrier.

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho turn approaching the final bend on to the main straight.

Hamilton ended the session in 19th, trailing teammate Charles Leclerc.

The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the rest of the field, with the German's Sauber third fastest, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's pace.

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