Daniel Ricciardo and Alex Albon crashed out just two corners into the race to draw a 28-minute stoppage, after which Verstappen sailed off into the distance.

The Dutchman won by 12.5 seconds over team-mate Sergio Perez while Carlos Sainz rounded out the podium, highlighting a fine Ferrari recovery with Charles Leclerc fourth.

A strong start saw Verstappen ease into the lead as Perez slotted into second. Then came Lando Norris, who headed off a challenge from Sainz while in the pack the Williams of Albon hit the barrier.

Ricciardo was also involved, the pair out of the race at Turn 3 as the red flag was thrown with less than half a lap complete.

The pair touched exiting Turn 2 as Ricciardo moved right to open up the left-hander.

Albon, already hugging the right side of the track, was left with nowhere to go as he brushed his left-front wheel with Ricciardo’s right rear, sending both off the road.

A 28-minute delay followed during which the stricken cars were cleared and the barrier repaired.

The cars were then released from the pit lane, circling back to the grid for a standing restart, the Verstappen, Perez, Norris, Sainz, Oscar Piastri, Leclerc, Goerge Russell, Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas, Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll, Logan Sargeant, and Guanyu Zhou.

At the standing restart, Verstappen again headed the field, this time sweeping across to fend off Perez as Norris and Sainz fell in behind.

Hamilton lost a spot to Leclerc while his Mercedes team-mate Russell also dropped a sport. Going the other way was Tsunoda, who climbed two places to 12th.

However, as they started Lap 5, Russell regained the place with the help of DRS down the front straight, sweeping up the inside to ninth.

Out front, Verstappen held an advantage that left him clear of DRS range from Perez, who was a similar distance ahead of Norris, the McLaren in turn clear of Sainz.

The front of the race quickly opened up, the front 10 not in range to challenge or be challenged as the flurry of the opening moments of the race having quickly subsided.

It left the battle between Gasly, Magnussen, and Zhou for 14th the most enthralling action on track.

Running ninth, Russell reported vibrations back through his steering, while Verstappen out front suggested some early understeer was beginning to transition to oversteer.

McLaren called Norris into the lane on Lap 12, swapping his medium rubber for one of two new hards available. He fed back out behind Lance Stroll in a net 10th.

Piastri was in next time around, also taking on a set of hard rubber to rejoin 12th, just behind Sargeant’s Williams.

None of the front runners reacted, with Red Bull Racing, Ferrari, and Mercedes running in Noah’s Ark formation on track, with Norris in seventh the first car to have taken service.

When he stopped, Alonso was able to slot his Aston Martin in between the two McLarens, Piastri having been delayed by Sargeant.

On Lap 17, Perez and Sainz took to the lane, both taking on another set of medium rubber.

That left Norris with track position over Perez as Verstappen was boxed, handing the race lead temporarily to Leclerc.

In third, Verstappen quickly found a way through Norris while Perez had no trouble clearing either Mercedes, passing both into 130R on successive laps.

Hamilton was also no trouble for Sainz, who eased through into the Spoon Curve on Lap 19, a move set up with better drive out of the hairpin after the Mercedes had taken a wider line through the right left-hander.

Verstappen regained the lead with an on-track pass into Turn 1 as he began Lap 21.

Leclerc defended but with DRS aiding his cause, the Dutchman eased through around the outside.

Norris slipped out of the podium places at the end of Lap 22 when Perez slid up the inside of the McLaren into the final chicane.

As he did, Mercedes finally pitted Russell, while a host of others also stopped and made for a tight battle pack as they exited the lane – Tsunoda gaining two places in the melee.

It was Hamilton’s turn on the next lap, fitting a new set of hard rubber to his car.

With the opening round of stops finally complete, Verstappen led from Leclerc, then Perez, Norris, Sainz, Alonso, Piastri, Russell, Hamilton, and Hulkenberg in 10th.

Under pressure from Perez, Leclerc cracked and ran wide at Degner 2 on Lap 26, allowing the Red Bull into second and Norris to close.

McLaren and Ferrari called their lead runners into the pits at the end of the lap in a move aimed at covering the threat posed by the fresh-booted Russell behind.

As it was, the Mercedes driver found himself between the pair as they exited the lane.

Piastri stopped for a second time at the end of Lap 32, rejoiing ninth in free air and a new set of hard tyres for the run to the flag.

A lap later and Perez was back in, as was Alonso as Aston Martin covered off Piastri, and then race leader Verstappen at the end of Lap 34.

That saw Sainz move into the lead with Verstappen second, Leclerc third, and Perez fourth, the Mexican having cleared Norris into Turn 1 on Lap 35.

Ferrari had a new set of hand compound tyres for Sainz when he boxed on Lap 36, dropping from the race lead to seventh – just ahead of Alonso but behind the two Mercedes.

Hamilton was the first of those, Sainz cruising by down the front straight as they started Lap 37.

Across the other side of the pit wall, Mercedes was servicing Russell, feeding him back out into ninth, behind Piastri.

After 39 laps, it was Hamilton’s turn to pit once more as he took on a fresh set of medium tyres to feed in behind his team-mate.

It left the order Verstappen from Perez, Leclerc (who’d only stopped once), Norris, Sainz, Alonso, Piastri, Russell, Hamilton, and Tsunoda in the top 10.

The yellow flags were waved for Logan Sargeant when he went straight on at Degner 2 on Lap 42.

The American had snatched the brakes into the right-hander but could stop the car short of the wall, rolling backwards onto the race track to continue – Alonso doing well to avoid him as he did so.

With fresher tyres than Norris ahead, Sainz had been reeling in the fourth-placed McLaren at two seconds a lap.

It made the Brit easy pickings down the front straight, the Ferrari breezing by as they began Lap 44.

With Leclerc in third ahead, and losing significant time to his team-mate, Ferrari instructed the Monegasque not to hold up the Spaniard. The Ferrari pair duly swapped positions at the start of Lap 46.

In the closing laps, Piastri found himself under pressure from Russell, the Mercedes driving having a look up the inside into the chicane on Lap 49 but unable to find a way through.

He had another go at the end of the front straight, though robust defending from the McLaren ensure the door stayed firmly closed in their scrap for seventh.

Officials took note of the incident at the chicane, where Piastri was forced off the road, a point the Australian made to his team over the radio.

Were it not for a locked brake into the final chicane on the penultimate lap, Piastri would likely have held the place.

But as it was, Russell was able to get a run and breeze by the 23-year-old to take seventh as they began the final lap.

A long way up the road, Verstappen eased to another win by 12 seconds over team-mate Perez, with Sainz a solid third to highlight an impressive Ferrari recovery.

Leclerc held on for fourth over Norris, then Alonso, Russell, Piastri, Hamilton, and Tsunoda to round out the points.