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The McLaren driver just pipped team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the dying seconds of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from Piastri by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City a fortnight back, outpaced the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.

Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before the sprint shootout due at 6:30 PM GMT.

Max Verstappen, the other racer in the championship fight, sitting with a 36-point deficit Norris, finished in P17 as his team opted for a unique setup.

Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, though minor, when he lost control at the fourth corner soon after starting.

Tsunoda lost control over the track edges before sliding over the escape zone, and was fortunate to get away with just a light touch of the wall.

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the conclusion of the practice, turning around through the high-speed Mergulho corner approaching the last turn on to the main straight.

The seven-time champion wrapped up in 19th, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with the German's Sauber in third, over half a second behind Piastri's best.

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