The double world champion and series leader was joined on the podium by his teammate Sergio Perez with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz in third.
Verstappen, who started from pole, also heads the grid for Sunday's main race where he is hunting his seventh win from nine this year.
Verstappen had a minor skirmish with Perez in the first couple of turns but soon pulled clear to dominate and cross the line over 20 seconds clear.
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