Sergio Perez was fourth in the other Red Bull, nearly half a second slower than Verstappen, with the Ferrari drivers well down the field after eschewing running the soft tyres throughout FP1.
Verstappen topped the early running on the harder tyres that made up the opening quarter of the one-hour session – the home hero moving to the top of the timesheets with his first flying lap and then regaining the top spot after George Russell and Hamilton had brief spells in front.
Running the hard tyres throughout that period, Verstappen gained over two seconds during his initial nine-lap stint and finished it with a best time of 1m13.191s.
Verstappen completed a subsequent stint on the hards with a heavier fuel load, with the Mercedes drivers closing in a touch with a series of then-personal best efforts.
Williams driver Logan Sargeant led the switch to soft tyres just before the halfway point, which vaulted him to the head of the pack on a 1m12.814s.
Source: Autosport