Verstappen took a grid penalty at the previous race in Russia and finished second after starting at the back of the field, his progress helped after late rain caused problems for others.
Perez, who vaulted to fourth in the overall standings after Sunday's race, is the first Mexican driver to win a race since Pedro Rodriguez took victory in the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix.
While Formula One rivals compete in virtual grands prix and various esports series during the coronavirus lockdown, six-times World champion Lewis Hamilton has been busy racing against himself. The Briton has been a keen gamer since boyhood and for some years a brand ambassador for the Gran Turismo franchise on Sony's PlayStation.
Hamilton, who had also topped Saturday morning's final practice session, never look like being challenged throughout the qualifying hour.
The Mercedes driver, who fought back from last to second after being sent spinning at the third corner by Ferrari's Finn, had spoken immediately after the race of the Italian team's 'interesting tactics'.
Formula One legend Michael Schumacher, who is still recovering from his 2013 skiing crash, is on the way to positive recovery.
The France-Austria-Britain sequence of races poses a fresh logistical challenge for teams hitherto committed only to back-to-back weekends, with the 21-round season hurrying to the halfway point.
Formula One said a tribute was in the works, with details to be confirmed. A minute's silence is likely before the race.
A Ferrari victory was the shot in the arm that Formula One needed.
Lauda won two world championships in 1975 and 1977 with Ferrari and a third in 1984 with McLaren. His rivalry with British driver James Hunt, the 1976 champion for McLaren, was intense and became the subject of the acclaimed 2013 film "Rush".
Lewis Hamilton took a big step towards clinching his fifth Formula One title after putting his Mercedes on pole position at the U.S. Grand Prix on Saturday with Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel starting fifth.
Formula One scrapped all four of this season's races in the Americas due to the COVID-19 pandemic on Friday and added three European rounds, including old favourites Imola and the Nuerburgring, to the calendar. While previously scheduled Grands Prix in Canada, Texas, Mexico and Brazil were cancelled, Formula One said in a statement that Portugal's Portimao will host a race for the first time.
Hamilton has already won the title, his record-equalling seventh, but the Briton is isolating after testing positive for COVID-19.
Lewis Hamilton did 94 laps of Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya on the soft C2 compound in a sunny afternoon session
'Every great Formula One season is marked by a great rivalry. Last year it was our internal battle between Lewis and Nico and this year it seems that the fight is on between Ferrari and Mercedes and Lewis and Sebastian'
Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton won the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday to cut Max Verstappen's overall Formula One lead to eight points with two races remaining.
Speaking at last weekend's title deciding US Grand Prix in Austin, the 84-year-old Briton told reporters he hoped to add more American venues to a series that is already set for a record 21 races next year.
The Briton lapped the Albert Park circuit in a searing one minute and 21.164 seconds to cross the line 0.664 seconds clear of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.
Next season, if Ferrari can carry their gathering momentum into 2020, could even see Leclerc challenging for the championship after losing out to Hamilton's Mercedes outfit this year.
Hamilton said he only realised the significance of what he had done when he came into the pitlane after taking the chequered flag.
Hamilton has won half of the season's 20 races so far, propelling his team to an unprecedented sixth successive title double, but Brazil was a disappointing weekend with Valtteri Bottas retiring.
The Mercedes driver told reporters he would seek a clarification from race director Charlie Whiting ahead of the next race in Spain.
Calderon, who is backed by the team's Mexican sponsor Telmex, was the first woman to drive a current Formula One car since Britain's Susie Wolff, who retired in 2015 after taking part in two grand prix practice sessions for Williams.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, the Briton's closest rival, finished only sixth after an early collision with Red Bull's Max Verstappen left the German fighting back from 19th place.
Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel battle to match the late Argentine's 1950s feat of five world championships.
Valtteri Bottas roared to victory in the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday as Mercedes clinched the Formula One constructors' championship for the sixth year in a row.
Lewis Hamilton took pole position at the Spanish Grand Prix for the second year in a row on Saturday with Ferrari's championship leader Sebastian Vettel alongside the Mercedes driver on the front row.
Lewis Hamilton collected his champion's trophy at a glittering gala in Paris after ending the year in touching distance of Michael Schumacher's records for wins and titles.
Lewis Hamilton was 'shocked' with the pace of Mercedes after notching a record-extending eighth pole position at the Australian Grand Prix ahead of team mate Valtteri Bottas as they thrashed their Formula One rivals in qualifying on Saturday.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen turned the Formula One title battle into a three-way fight down to the wire with victory in China on Sunday after McLaren's championship leader Lewis Hamilton skidded out.
The 21-year-old is the first Ferrari driver since seven times champion Michael Schumacher to take four consecutive poles in a single season.
Mercedes were summoned by stewards post-race for the infringement.
Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton became the first Formula One driver to take 100 pole positions after lapping fastest for Mercedes in Spanish Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton added the Italian Grand Prix to his list of Formula One victories on Sunday while Ferrari's Fernando Alonso stretched his overall championship lead to 37 points with third place.
Mick Schumacher, the 19-year-old son of seven-times Formula One world champion Michael, won the European Formula Three title.
Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen lifted himself into a league of his own as he beat title rival Lewis Hamilton to pole position with a blinding lap in qualifying for the French Grand Prix at Circuit Paul Ricard.
England cricketer Ben Stokes will test his driving skills against five Formula One drivers, including Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, in the sport's second virtual Grand Prix this weekend. The World Cup winning all-rounder will team up with Thai racer Alexander Albon in the Red Bull line-up for his first esports competition.
Formula One will have simpler, cheaper and noisier engines from 2021 as part of a "road map" for the future presented to teams on Tuesday that could entice new manufacturers to enter the sport.
Lewis Hamilton took a huge stride towards a fourth Formula One title on Sunday with victory in an incident-packed Singapore Grand Prix after Ferrari title rival Sebastian Vettel crashed out at the start.
The double world champion failed to score a point in his final race for McLaren, finishing tantalisingly close in 11th place after making up four positions, but the Spaniard went out fighting to the last.
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