Team boss Christian Horner said Verstappen's lap of one minute 22.109 seconds was one of his best of the year and the Dutch driver sounded remarkably relaxed given the amount of pressure on him.
Sergio Perez shook off the gear-box change penalty to claim his and Sahara Force India's second podium place of the season with a third-place finish at the European Grand Prix while Nico Hulkenberg took the ninth spot, in Baku, on Sunday.
On a rainsoaked afternoon that saw the race twice stopped and re-started with the safety car deployed five times, there were also those who felt the sport had erred too far on the side of caution.
Formula One is feeling a fresh wave of optimism under its new owners, while Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso are the two most popular drivers, according to an extensive fan survey released on Friday.
Lewis Hamilton has competed with Alonso, Raikkonen, Button, Rosberg, Schumacher and Vettel, champions all of them, and he has come out on top.
Force India's Sergio Perez has said he is yet to decide if he will drive for the Formula One team next season.
Felipe Massa said farewell to thousands of Ferrari fans in Italy on Sunday and received a trophy nearly as tall as him to celebrate his time with the Formula One team.
Nico Rosberg put his Texas blues behind him on Sunday to win the first Mexican Grand Prix in 23 years and show triple world champion Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton how it feels to finish second.
Sahara Force India had a disappointing outing as Adrian Sutil managed 14th while team mate Paul di Resta was two places below at 16th in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, on Sunday.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen won a chaotic and crash-halted Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola on Sunday with Lewis Hamilton second for Mercedes and retaining the lead in the championship by a single point.
2016 F1 calendar to feature record 21-race campaign
Sebastian Vettel's Formula One title bid could suffer a further setback after a bizarre post-race incident at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday.
"It was not a problem of the mechanics, it was our problem and we have to make sure we fix it"
Sebastian Vettel blamed Red Bull's Max Verstappen on Sunday for a Japanese Grand Prix tangle that dealt a huge blow to the Ferrari driver's fading Formula One title hopes.
Ferrari, expecting rain, sent Vettel and team mate Kimi Raikkonen out on the intermediate tyres at the start of the final shootout phase of qualifying.
Ferrari title rival Sebastian Vettel qualified only ninth.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton is ready to sign a new contract that, according to media reports, could net him more than $40 million a year.
Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton made the most of the changeable conditions to seize pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix ahead of Ferrari title rival Sebastian Vettel on Saturday.
Lewis Hamilton lapped fastest overall for Mercedes in Hungarian Grand Prix practice
The clock is ticking for some of Formula One's big name drivers, with world champions and race winners out of contract at the end of the season and a restless young generation eager to take their places.
After pipping Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel with a lap of one minute 23.599 seconds in the first practice, the Briton shaved almost a second in FP2, his quickest lap clocked at 1:22.60.
Formula One championship leader Sebastian Vettel pumped in a stunning late lap to snatch pole position from team mate Kimi Raikkonen as Ferrari dominated Chinese Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday.
Fernando Alonso reiterated his long-term love and loyalty to Ferrari on Friday after McLaren, the Formula One team he left in acrimonious circumstances in 2007, said they would be keen to sign him.
Hamilton held off a mid-race challenge from Red Bull's Max Verstappen to register a record-equalling fourth triumph at the floodlit Marina Bay Street Circuit track, while Vettel finished third to slip further behind in the title race.
Launching a scathing attack over his fellow drivers for not presenting a united front on the introduction of Halo device, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel has favoured the launch of head protection device for the 2017 Formula One season saying nothing could 'justify death'.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton took pole for Mercedes at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton clinched a record-extending 92nd career pole position in a Mercedes front-row lockout with team mate Valtteri Bottas at the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday.
Formula One's 'silly season' of rumour and speculation is heating up.
Lewis Hamilton boosted his morale with the fastest lap in Russian Grand Prix practice on Friday after Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg set the early pace and Ferrari suffered reliability problems.
World champion Lewis Hamilton took pole for Mercedes in qualifying on Saturday for Formula One's season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Team by team analysis of Sunday's Russian Grand Prix (listed in championship order):
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton overtook main rival Max Verstappen and Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas to win the Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday and go eight points clear in the Formula One standings.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
Ferrari are still waiting to take the fight to Formula One champions Mercedes after a Russian Grand Prix that left even their dominant rivals surprised by the gap in performance.
Charles Leclerc seized pole position for the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday ahead of team mate Sebastian Vettel who completed a front row lockout for Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton tightened his grip on securing a fifth Formula One world title by coming from nowhere to claim a stunning pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix in his Mercedes on Saturday.
In a thrilling race with two safety car periods, reigning champion Hamilton went from pole position to the rear of the field before finishing second for Mercedes in a superb fightback. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was third.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen won a wet and crazily chaotic German Grand Prix littered with crashes and safety car periods on Sunday with Mercedes' Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton failing to score.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the French Grand Prix on Saturday with Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas alongside him on the front row.
Finland's Valtteri Bottas seized the first Formula One victory of his career at the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday after jumping both Ferraris at the start and then holding his nerve over the tense closing laps.
