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The McLaren driver narrowly beat fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the closing stages of practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The British racer, who grabbed the title advantage from his teammate by just one point after his victory in Mexico City recently, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.

Before then, Oscar Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.

Max Verstappen, the other racer in the points battle, lying 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his team followed a alternative strategy.

Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the sole competitor to have an incident, albeit lightly, when he lost control at corner four soon after starting.

The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before sliding over the run-off area, and was blessed to get away with just a light touch of the wall.

The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the conclusion of the session, turning around through the quick descending Mergulho turn approaching the final bend on to the main straight.

The veteran ended the session in 19th, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.

Norris and Piastri were well clear of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber P3, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's best.

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