Verstappen his home race for a third year in succession from Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine).
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez lost third on the road to Gasly due to a penalty for speeding in the pits shortly before a red flag was required following Zhou Guanyu’s hefty crash at Turn 1 in heavy rain that set up a five-lap sprint to the finish.
On a dry track, and on soft slick tyres, Verstappen led Lando Norris (McLaren) and George Russell (Mercedes) into Turn 1. Alonso snatched third from Russell at Turn 3 as rain began to fall, and drivers found a soaking track surface in the final corners.
Perez, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Zhou (Alfa Romeo) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine) pitted at the end of lap one for intermediates, but Ferrari didn’t have Leclerc’s tyres ready and he lost a huge amount of time.
Alonso passed Norris for second at the exit of Turn 3 before Verstappen and Alonso pitted for inters at the end of the second lap. Norris stayed out but Russell passed him at Turn 1.
Perez, the first car on inters, quickly surged past Norris and Russell to lead by the middle of lap three, with Zhou also rising to second thanks to his early stop.
Source: Autosport