Home hero Perez crashed at the first corner
Set up by passing the front-row Ferraris at the start, Verstappen's victory was his 16th in 2023 in what is becoming one of the most dominant seasons in history.
Verstappen had to negotiate a safety car and a red flag but was untroubled once into the lead at Turn One.
Lewis Hamilton moved up from sixth on the grid in his Mercedes to beat Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in a battle for the remaining podium positions.
Behind them, Carlos Sainz fended off George Russell to win another Ferrari-Mercedes battle over fourth place, before Lando Norris passed his fellow Briton for fifth with four laps to go.
It was a lovely move, set up by a cut back through Turns Four and Five, and befitting the climax to a starring drive from 19th on the grid, and 14th at the restart following a red flag at half distance.
Seventh place for Daniel Ricciardo, not quite able to pass the fading Russell on the last lap, was a drop from his remarkable fourth place on the grid but still a strong result for the Alpha Tauri driver in only his second race since returning from an absence caused by a broken hand.
-- Courtesy of BBC Sport