Verstappen collided with Leclerc and twice with Mercedes' George Russell after the safety car restart.
Verstappen, who had started alongside Norris on the front row, was leading by lap three and could then build a buffer and take control.
Reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton has lashed out at the plans of new qualifying format in the Formula One, saying the drivers should be consulted before changing the rules.
Max Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix from pole position to stretch his Formula One championship lead to 53 points.
Spanish Moto2 rider Luis Salom has died after crashing during a free practice session at the Catalunya Grand Prix, world championship organisers said on Friday. "Following an incident during today's Moto2 Free Practice 2 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, it is with great sadness that we have to report the passing of Luis Salom (SAG Team)," MotoGP said in a statement. Salom, 24, was taken to a hospital after the crash where he underwent surgery.
The Finn's lap of one minute 17.221 seconds around Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya was the second fastest of the eight days of winter testing and slower only than team mate Sebastian Vettel's best on Thursday.
The circuit agreed last year an extension to cover this year's race, which was held in August and without spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic, after fears it would drop off the calendar.
The next time the four-time world champion will get behind the wheel will be for first Friday practice at Melbourne's Albert Park on March 23.
Briatore revealed that doctors had found the McLaren driver had no health problems other than the injury sustained in the accident. He claimed that he had seen video of the accident, which was not even that dramatic, insisting that the impact was not so hard.
Formula One expects to run a shortened season of 15-18 Grands Prix once racing can resume after the coronavirus pandemic, hopefully during the European summer, chairman and chief executive Chase Carey said on Monday. The original 2020 calendar had a record 22 races but the season has yet to start with the first eight postponed or cancelled and more likely to be called off.
'The team is developing and closer together year by year so I hope that this year we get to have a lot of fun -- fun means win a lot of races and then ultimately you are fighting for the championship'
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Fernando Alonso can see a brighter future for McLaren, despite turning up at his home Spanish Grand Prix on Thursday with a stye in his eye.
Formula One leader Valtteri Bottas put his Mercedes on pole position by a massive margin at the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday with team mate Lewis Hamilton having to settle for second in a front row lockout.
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