At first, Norris was true to his claim that he was “not here to take no risks” as he fought hard to defend his lead from Verstappen’s pole position.
But after an aggressive cut in front of Verstappen to stop the Dutchman’s attack on the inside, Norris misjudged his braking point and went deep into the corner.
That allowed Verstappen to take the lead, while Norris also lost second place to Russell.
Through two virtual safety cars for some early incidents, including at the start when Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson collided with Piastri, Verstappen gradually imposed his authority on the race.
Russell made an early pit stop to change the hard tyres, but Norris and Verstappen were left out.
Norris stopped five laps after Mercedes and Verstappen 10.
Verstappen was still able to rejoin the lead, as Russell was unable to get close to the Red Bull despite having newer tyres.
Norris rejoined Russell from his stop, but after a few cautious laps to allow his tires to settle, he soon closed his 3.3-second deficit to the Mercedes and moved into second place on lap 34.
Norris asked his engineer how to run the rest of the race, effectively asking him if he should settle for second place or attack.
He was told to “go find Max”, but it soon became clear that he had no chance. Verstappen was able to easily repel Norris’s attacks, and in the closing stages the margin widened significantly when the McLaren began to suffer a technical problem that has so far not been defined.
Despite losing almost three seconds a lap, Norris was able to hold off Russell due to the magnitude of the lead he had built while chasing Verstappen.
The Red Bull driver’s sixth win of the season – just one behind the two McLaren drivers – was taken in style and keeps him in the title fight, at least mathematically, even if he needs trouble for Norris in the remaining two races to overtake him.
“There is still a big difference, we always try to maximize everything we have,” Verstappen said.
“The next few weekends we will try to win the race and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we finish, but I am very proud of everyone.”
