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The McLaren driver just pipped fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the closing stages of practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

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

Until that point, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before the sprint shootout scheduled for 18:30 GMT.

The Red Bull star, the only other driver in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points Norris, ended up in 17th position as his Red Bull team opted for a different programme.

Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, though minor, when he spun at the fourth corner soon after starting.

Tsunoda slid over the curbs on exit before rotating through the run-off area, and was fortunate to avoid just a light touch of the barrier.

Ferrari's the seven-time champion also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, spinning around through the high-speed corner before the final bend on to the pit straight.

Hamilton finished practice in 19th, just behind teammate Charles Leclerc.

Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, over half a second off Piastri's pace.

The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.