Verstappen, who had started alongside Norris on the front row, was leading by lap three and could then build a buffer and take control.
McLaren stepped up their preparations for the new Formula One season with the track debut of their new MP4-21 car.
Images from the new Mercedes McLaren car launch, on Friday, by Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.
Lewis Hamilton said he had let down McLaren after a starting grid error cost him and his team the Formula One championship lead in Bahrain on Sunday. The Briton finished 13th at Sakhir and was overtaken in the standings by Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen.
McLaren unveiled their 2013 Formula One car with a literal blast from the past on Thursday as they celebrated 50 years in grand prix racing and looked forward to returning to the top this season.
Lewis Hamilton grabbed McLaren's 150th Formula One pole on Saturday in a Spanish Grand Prix qualifying that left him well-placed to become the fifth different winner in five races.
George Russell led Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes front-row lockout in qualifying for the British Grand Prix on Saturday with McLaren's Lando Norris completing a rare one-two-three of home drivers.
The inaugural Formula E race in Hyderabad is scheduled for February 11 next year, joining the likes of New York, London and Rome on the calendar.
McLaren have had to fly in replacements from Britain after four members of their Formula One team fell sick at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen started the season with a commanding Bahrain Grand Prix win from pole position.
McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh threw the equivalent of a fatherly arm around his under-fire driver Lewis Hamilton after Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix stoked further criticism of the Briton's aggressive driving style.
Briton Lewis Hamilton was congratulated by Formula One greats Jackie Stewart and Stirling Moss after a sparkling start to his grand prix career in Australia on Friday.
Lewis Hamilton celebrated his 23rd birthday on Monday by showing off the car that McLaren hope will take him to the Formula One title as the youngest champion this season.
Stewards at the Brazilian race summoned Leclerc on Friday, acting on a report from the governing FIA's media delegate and after reviewing a written transcript.
Double world champion Fernando Alonso hopes to get his McLaren career off to a winning start on Sunday in an Australian Grand Prix that is far more than just a season-opener.
McLaren aim to overtake glamour team Ferrari as Formula One's leading brand within the next 20 years, team principal Martin Whitmarsh said.
McLaren have yet to unlock the potential of their new Formula One car with the start of the season looming, according to Jenson Button.
McLaren gave their rivals something to chew over on Tuesday as Jenson Button kicked off Formula One's pre-season testing with a lap comfortably quicker than anyone else's.
FIA said it is looking into incidents involving the Mercedes-powered team 'in light of a possible breach of the International Sporting Code'.
McLaren have told Lewis Hamilton to be less hard on himself after an inaugural Indian Grand Prix that again had the 2008 Formula One champion apologising profusely to team and sponsors.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton stormed to a Canadian Grand Prix victory on Sunday to become a magnificent seventh winner in seven Formula One races this season and seize the championship lead.
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and McLaren's world champion Jenson Button shared the limelight on Friday in practice for an Italian Grand Prix both are desperate to win.
McLaren unveiled the first of a range of supercars on Thursday that will take their Formula One battle with Ferrari and Mercedes out of the racetrack and into the automotive arena.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen dealt Lando Norris a shattering blow in their Formula One title battle by winning a wet and chaotic Sao Paulo Grand Prix from 17th on the grid.
McLaren have left Lewis Hamilton in no doubt that he will feel the love when he goes back to the Formula One team's factory this week for the first time since his move to Mercedes was announced last month.
Hamilton is chasing his third win in a row, something he has yet to achieve in a stellar career that has already delivered so much in such a short period, while McLaren are targeting their third successive one-two.
A teary George Russell celebrated the first Formula One Grand Prix victory of his career in Brazil on Sunday in a one-two finish with Mercedes team mate and seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton.
A light-hearted Lewis Hamilton laughed at the past and looked forward to a happier season ahead after helping Jenson Button take the wraps off McLaren's sleek new Formula One car on Wednesday.
Button said he was confident the team would overcome its "current difficulties" to achieve great successes in the future.
McLaren have halted work on a new suspension system after Formula One's governing body warned teams that anything that changes a car's ride height between qualifying and the race is illegal.
Massa, who failed to score after a bungled pitstop, claims the race should have been cancelled because the sport's leaders allegedly knew before the end of the 2008 season what had happened but covered it up.
Red Bull suffered a second trophy malfunction in a week on Sunday after the one handed to the winning constructor at the Belgian Grand Prix was broken after a celebratory team photograph.
The McLarens of Britons Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton posted the fastest times as Formula One got back to business with the first two practice sessions for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Friday.
Lewis Hamilton feels McLaren want him to win the Formula One title more than team mate Fernando Alonso.
Media reports suggested the McLaren driver, whose wife is Japanese, was likely to announce at this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix that he would be leaving Formula One at the end of the year.
The reigning World champion gave his new Ferrari a winning debut in Spain on Sunday as title leaders McLaren were reduced to mere spectators.
New McLaren driver Sergio Perez set the fastest lap on the second day of Formula One testing at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya on Wednesday.
