However, his success was short lived with Verstappen flying past Russell on Lap 3 and instantly pulling out of DRS range.
Russell's race was further after enduring a slow pit stop of 5.3 seconds, failing to pull off the undercut on Norris' McLaren.
Meanwhile Lewis Hamilton produced a hair-raising overtake on Carlos Sainz down the main straight and into Turn 1, making contact with the Ferrari and pushing the Spaniard off the track.
The incident was noted by race control, however the stewards determined that no investigation was necessary, despite Sainz's protests over team radio.
How did Lando Norris lose the lead?
Once Verstappen pitted Norris found himself as the net leader extending his stint to try and build a gap.
However, McLaren left Norris out too long struggling to get past the Mercedes following his pit stop and Verstappen extending his race lead
Norris battled hard with the Mercedes of Russell all throughout Lap 35, with Norris coming out on top for P2.
Russell did not give up, fighting back with DRS but ultimately failing, and falling into the clutches of Hamilton.
A slow second stop for Norris, saw him almost usurped by Russell, but narrowly came out in front to hunt down Verstappen on fresher tyres on Lap 48.
The Brit was unsuccessful, however, failing to close the gap in time before the chequered flag.
After falling behind his team-mate during his second pit stop Hamilton managed to stick with Russell, and overtake his team-mate to claim the final podium position - retribution from their battle in Canada.