The crash was a gift for Verstappen, who McLaren have always insisted remained a threat in the championship despite his significant deficit, especially as Red Bull have returned to form in recent races.
The crash brought out the safety car for five laps and after the restart Verstappen was tracked by Russell, who made a bold move into Turn 12 on lap seven, a late dive that ended up with both going off the track.
Verstappen retained the position and soon began to edge away and took control of the race.
Sainz was no threat to Russell, but he had to watch his mirrors for Hamilton.
The seven-time champion passed team-mate Charles Leclerc on lap eight down the back straight after the Monegasque lost control of his car through the high-speed Esses earlier in the lap.
Leclerc had a snap through the Esses, cut one of the corners, and that allowed Hamilton to close up. He then passed down the straight as Leclerc edged him right to the edge of the track on the inside.
Leclerc tried to fight back through the series of slower corners through the stadium section but Hamilton held on.
Leclerc took fifth place, with Williams’ Alex Albon sixth and Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda seventh.
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli took the final point after a 10-second penalty for Haas driver Oliver Bearman, who was adjudged to have gained an advantage by leaving the track after the Italian tried a passing move into Turn 12 late in the race.
Bearman could not believe the penalty when told about it by his team during the race, obviously feeling Antonelli had forced him off track with his late move.
The race ended under another safety car after Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll T-boned Esteban Ocon’s Haas into the first corner, leaving his team with a massive repair job on both cars in the gap before grand prix qualifying at 22:00 BST.
