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Lando Norris edged out team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the top spot in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Norris, who took the points lead from Piastri by a single point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.

Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before the sprint shootout scheduled for 18:30 GMT.

Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the points battle, sitting with a 36-point deficit Norris, ended up in P17 as his Red Bull team opted for a alternative strategy.

His teammate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to crash, albeit lightly, when he spun at corner four during the early running.

Tsunoda spun out over the exit kerbs before rotating through the run-off area, and was lucky to escape with just a light touch of the wall.

Ferrari's the seven-time champion also had a spin, at the conclusion of the session, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho corner before the final corner on to the pit straight.

Hamilton wrapped up in 19th, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.

The McLaren drivers were well clear of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, over half a second slower than Piastri's best.

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