Emirates Team New Zealand have taken another step toward retaining the America's Cup after building a 4-0 lead over INEOS Britannia.

New Zealand's Taihoro made it four from four in the first-to-seven series off the Barcelona beachfront after beating Britannia by 23 seconds.

The two boats exchanged leads in the first leg, but the Kiwis slowly added to their lead and were more than 350 metres in front when they crossed the finish line.

Monday's race had been held over from Sunday when a lack of wind restricted the event to one race.

"It's nice just to keep marching forward," New Zealand skipper Peter Burling said. "(It) feels like we are improving a lot as a group as we go through these races and we are excited to keep pushing forward."

New Zealand is trying to win the Auld Mug, the oldest trophy in international sport, for a third straight time and fifth overall. The British have never won it in its 173-year history and are in their first final in six decades.

The challenger will have Tuesday to plot a fightback before sailing resumes on Wednesday.

"It is a good opportunity to take a day on shore and try to figure out how we can find some gains," Britannia skipper Ben Ainslie said.

"They are clearly going really well. We have our moments, but still there are moments where we are losing a click and I think that is the difference. Obviously they have had a strong start, but we can still come back from this."