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Verstappen won the United States GP Sprint from Carlos Sainz after a costly mistake from Lando Norris on the final lap.
The McLaren driver survived in third ahead of Charles Leclerc, who almost speared into the back of Norris’ car in the final corners.
Fast in the early stages, George Russell faded as he saw the flag fifth, under pressure from Lewis Hamilton in the closing laps.
Oscar Piastri climbed to 10th at the flag, outside of the points, after a combative drive while Liam Lawson dropped one place to come home 16th after battling with Fernando Alonso.
As the lights went out at the race start, Verstappen swept to the inside to defend his place at the head of the field while Norris rose from fourth on the grid to second as the field got through Turn 1.
That shuffled Russell down to third with Leclerc fourth before the pair went wheel to wheel through the final third of the lap.
The breathless opening tour ended with Verstappen almost a second clear of Norris, then Russell and Leclerc, Sainz, Hamilton, Kevin Magnussen, Yuki Tsunoda, Nico Hulkenberg, and Sergio Perez in the top 10. Oscar Piastri climbed to 14th and Liam Lawson held station in 15th.
After Russell saw off the challenge from Leclerc on the opening lap, the Monegasque driver came under pressure from his team-mate on Lap 2.
Sainz used the slipstream down the back straight and briefly stole the spot at Turn 15. However, he ran deep and Leclerc was able to sneak back through on corner exit.
The battle continued, Sainz again getting through a Turn 1 as they started Lap 3 but again ran deep and allowed his Leclerc through once more.
At Turn 12 on Lap 4, Sainz was through again before, again, running deep and opening the door.
The Spaniard finally made the move stick at Turn 15 a lap later, holding the inside line and his team-mate wide as they negotiated the double-apex left-hander.
Ahead, Russell had closed on Norris, the McLaren driver under intense pressure and forced to go defensive from Turn 12 to Turn 15 on Lap 6.
The squabble allowed Verstappen to skip clear to a 2.1s advantage as the battle for second quickly developed into a four-car scrap as both Ferraris joined Norris and Russell.
In the pack, Piastri was moving forward, picking off Pierre Gasly on Lap 6 – the Australian picking up a five-second penalty for forcing the Frenchman off track – and Lance Stroll a lap later to climb to 12th
Further back, Lawson was embroiled in a battle with Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso, the veteran Spaniard terming the young Kiwi “an idiot” after passing and then being repassed by the RB.
At the end of Lap 9, Sainz surged by Russell as the Mercedes driver began to struggle for pace.
The Brit fell victim to Leclerc a lap later, the Ferrari driver repeating the move his team-mate pulled at Turn 15 to steal the apex and, with it, the position.
Piastri’s charge continued and having cleared Franco Colapinto he quickly latched on to Tsunoda and began to attack.
The RB driver offered a staunch defence, ignoring instructions from his team to give Piastri the place after he’d left the track while defending against the McLaren.
The stewards duly took notice of the Japanese driver and began investigating the RB driver.
Piastri finally got through a Turn 1 as they started Lap 16, the McLaren driver storming to the apex and moving his rival aside.
As the leaders began the penultimate lap, Norris found himself under pressure from both Ferraris, with Sainz in DRS range and Leclerc in his team-mate’s wheel tracks.
A mistake from Norris at the start of the final lap saw him skid wide of the apex at Turn 1, offering Sainz a free pass into second.
There was further drama as Leclerc and Norris narrowly avoided contact in the final corners, the former locking his rear brakes as he worked to avoid spearing into the McLaren.
Norris held on to third ahead of Leclerc, then came Russell, Hamilton, Magnussen and Hulkenberg to round out the points paying positions – a key result for Haas as it moved the squad ahead of RB in the constructors’ championship.
Behind them, Piastri was classified 10th even after his penalty while Lawson slipped to 16th.
