Sainz seized the lead on Lap 2 just before his Red Bull Racing rival was forced out with brake issues with Charles Leclerc slotting in second.
Lando Norris finished third and Oscar Piastri fourth, McLaren reversing their positions midway through the 58-lap encounter.
After starting 18th, Daniel Ricciardo recovered well though missed out on points as he took the flag in 12th.
From the start, Verstappen jumped well to maintain the lead with Sainz holding station in second from Norris in third.
Oscar Piastri challenged Charles Leclerc for fourth when the field reached Turn 4 in an incident-free opening.
Sergio Perez fell behind George Russell in the opening exchanges, the Mercedes driver defending hard against the Red Bull Racing entry which harried its gearbox.
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With DRS enabled for Lap 2, Sainz surged by Verstappen as they rocketed down Lakeside Drive for the second time.
In second, Verstappen complained about losing the car and then its handling before a worrying plume of smoke began trailing the world championship leader.
Midway around the fourth lap, he slowed with a problem with the right-rear brake that forced him into the lane and out of the race.
That left Sainz out front from Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Russell, and Perez in the second Red Bull Racing entry.
At the other end of the pack, Daniel Ricciardo pitted after six laps as he swapped from the soft tyre onto the hard rubber.
The Australian had been running 17th following Verstappen’s retirement, holding that spot as Sauber took a similar strategy with Zhou Guanyu.
Lewis Hamilton and Kevin Magnussen were also in the lane early, buying themselves some clear air in the process.
After nine laps, Leclerc and Piastri pitted from third and fourth respectively, emerging in the same order but behind the Alpine of Pierre Gasly, seventh and eighth on the road.
That left Perez in clear air in third, though he didn’t have the pace to reel in Norris ahead who’d, by Lap 13, fallen 5.8s back from Sainz.
During the early pit cycle, Valtteri Bottas had also taken service, though another slow stop, a result of different materials used in the wheel nut, crippled his chances of a strong result.
Norris and Perez both pitted at the end of Lap 14, the McLaren driver slipping behind his team-mate in an effective fourth place.
Hamilton was next to fall, the Mercedes driver reporting an engine failure as he pulled off the road while running 11th on Lap 15.
Though he was able to stop near an access road, the Virtual Safety Car was deployed to allow marshals on track to recover the W14.
Sainz and Alonso, who’d yet to pit, took full advantage as they headed to the lane to take service.
With the first round of stops complete, Sainz held a slender advantage over team-mate Leclerc, with Piastri third and Norris fourth.
Ricciardo had climbed to 13th, benefitting from the slow stop for Bottas but also Esteban Ocon having to take an unplanned stop when a tear-off found its way into his brake duct.
Perez ran seventh, passing George Russell on Lap 21 to move up a spot.
On Lap 29, McLaren instructed Piastri to move aside for Norris, which he dutifully did without complaint on the run to Turn 3.
That happened shortly after Albon stopped for a second time, dropping the lone Williams to 15th.
As he started Lap 30, Ricciardo stopped again, emerging behind Ocon in 17th and last on track.
Leclerc was back in the lane on Lap 35, rejoining narrowly ahead of Perez and Alonso in fourth on the road.
Red Bull Racing called in Perez next time around, swapping him onto another set of hard compound rubber.
Piastri made a mistake while running third on the road, sliding off the track at the penultimate corner on Lap 39.
It cost the Australian in the region of four seconds, with McLaren boxing him next time around.
Norris pitted for his second stop a lap later, his stationary time just 2.6s.
Ferrari reacted by stopping Sainz from the lead after 41 laps, the Spaniard feeding out five seconds ahead of Leclerc in second.
Norris remained third, a further 4.5s back, with Piastri fourth, now 8.7s away from a podium finish.
The Australian made no impact on his team-mate ahead and ended the race fourth.
Sainz headed a Ferrari one-two from Leclerc with Norris confirming a strong early-season result for McLaren in third.
Perez could do no better than fifth ahead of Alonso.
Russell had been chasing the Spaniard before a late crash at Turn 7, ripping wheels off the Mercedes to draw the Virtual Safety Car.
It effectively ended the race with Lance Stroll in seventh, Tsunoda eighth, then Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen.
Ricciardo had a solid race to rise to 12th at the flag, only some 12 seconds back from his RB team-mate despite starting at the back of the 18-car grid.
Verstappen and Red Bull Racing continue to lead the drivers’ and constructors’ championships respectively, the advantage in the latter now just four points.
Leclerc is second in the drivers’ fight on 47 points, four back from Verstappen.
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