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Lando Norris narrowly beat team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The British racer, who grabbed the points lead from Piastri by a single point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, topped the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.

Until that point, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver during the running before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.

Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the championship fight, trailing 36 points behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his Red Bull team ran a unique setup.

Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he rotated at the fourth corner soon after starting.

The Japanese spun out over the curbs on exit before spinning across the gravel trap, and was fortunate to avoid just a slight brush of the barrier.

The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the conclusion of the session, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner approaching the last turn on to the main straight.

Hamilton ended the session in P19, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.

The McLaren pair were well clear of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber in third, 0.619secs off the Australian's time.

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