Stylus lowering

I bought a Rega P1 with the stock Ortofon OM5E cartridge last week, and I notice that when I lower the tonearm... the stylus seems to absorb the lowering. With the Rega, I have the counter-weight pushed all the way to the front as recommended, and the anti-skate at around 1.75.

It seems to sound fine, but the cartridge seems quite close to the surface of the record.

Should the stylus absorb the downward force like that?

Kyle