After taking pole in Saturday's shootout Norris had a worse drive off the grid than fellow front-row starter Verstappen, who drew along the inside of Turn 1.
Norris moved to the middle of the track but ultimately left the door ajar for Verstappen to swoop past and take the lead.
Verstappen then comfortably controlled a 24-lap race dictated by tyre wear on Pirelli's softs, as Norris initially stayed within striking range, only for the Dutchman to ultimately win at a canter with a four-second margin.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella feels that even keeping the lead on the opening lap would not have been enough to fend off Verstappen.
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The Red Bull driver appeared to be managing his pace early on in the sprint when Norris kept within two seconds, which may have given McLaren false hope of being able to fight him until Verstappen was given the go-ahead to up his pace by his team.
"My impression is that had Lando stayed ahead of Max on lap 1, it would have been difficult to stay ahead in the second part," Stella acknowledged.
"I think until mid-sprint, the pace was good. Actually, we achieved the minimum gap around the halfway in the sprint race, which was at the time was almost like, 'Wow, we may even attack'.
Source: Autosport