With eight points on offer to the winner of Saturday's 100km race, he and Norris -- 22 points behind Piastri -- both have a good chance to reduce the gap to the Australian who was three tenths slower than his teammate.
Verstappen, who had started alongside Norris on the front row, was leading by lap three and could then build a buffer and take control.
Days after the Red Bull driver and partner Kelly Piquet welcomed daughter Lily, his first child, the four-times champion set a blistering lap of one minute 26.204 seconds around the Hard Rock Stadium.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri celebrated his 50th Formula One race with a pole-to-flag win in Bahrain on Sunday that sent him second overall.
Max Verstappen celebrated Red Bull's 400th Formula One race with a fourth win in a row at Imola on Sunday.
Australian driver Oscar Piastri, 23, emerged victorious in his first ever Formula One race at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Red Bull are concerned about their constructors' title defence being weakened at a time when McLaren are emerging as a threat
George Russell took Mercedes' first win of the Formula One season in Canada on Sunday while McLaren's Oscar Piastri went 22 points clear in the championship after teammate Lando Norris smashed into him and retired.
Red Bull make changes to car after discussions with FIA
Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris topped the times for McLaren as four red flags, two caused by trackside grass fires, wreaked havoc with the second practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix on Friday.
Russell fastest in first Austrian GP practice as Dunne shines
Australian Piastri, winner of four of the last five races, lapped the Imola circuit with a fastest time of one minute 16.545 seconds on the softest tyre compound with Norris 0.032 slower on a sunny afternoon.
Verstappen crossed the line in his Red Bull for his 64th Grand Prix victory to a huge ovation from the 115,000 crowd some 1.4 seconds ahead of McLaren's championship leader Lando Norris in second place.
Leclerc brought out the red flags when he hit the wall at the second chicane with 45 minutes remaining, causing extensive damage to his Ferrari.
The 18-year-old, preparing for only his sixth Grand Prix weekend, lapped with a best time of one minute 26.482 seconds to pip McLaren's championship leader Oscar Piastri by 0.045 seconds.
Red Bull's reigning champion Max Verstappen will join the Australian on the front row.
Charles Leclerc stunned favourites McLaren by seizing pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday as Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton described himself as useless and suggested he should be replaced.
Verstappen is third overall in the standings, 61 points behind Piastri who leads Norris by 15, and chasing his third win of the campaign to make up for retirement in Austria last weekend.
Norris said he had also been on pain-killers for a back problem and had not felt confident in the car, limiting his track time in the afternoon.
Formula One leader Oscar Piastri put his McLaren on pole position for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola on Saturday
McLaren's Oscar Piastri seized the first proper pole position of his Formula One career at the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday with the fastest lap yet around the Shanghai International Circuit.
'In Lando and Daniel we have a hugely talented and exciting driver line-up, and this announcement is a strong signal of commitment to the next chapter for McLaren from 2022 onwards.'
George Russell said he was driving better than ever and ready to fight for a Formula One championship with Mercedes after taking the team's first win of the season in Canada, but this year still looks a long shot.
Verstappen starts new Red Bull era with Spa sprint win
In the constructors' standings, Ferrari closed the gap to McLaren to 24 points.
F1 leader Oscar Piastri seized pole position from teammate and title rival Lando Norris by a hefty margin as dominant McLaren locked out the front row in Spanish Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton celebrated his first Formula One win for Ferrari after leading a Chinese Grand Prix sprint from start to finish in only his second race for the Italian team on Saturday.
Red Bull's triple world champion Max Verstappen followed up a Saturday sprint win with a statement pole position for Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix, with McLaren's Lando Norris again alongside on the front row.
George Russell led Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes front-row lockout in qualifying for the British Grand Prix on Saturday with McLaren's Lando Norris completing a rare one-two-three of home drivers.
George Russell put his Mercedes on pole position in Canada for the second year in a row on Saturday with Red Bull rival Max Verstappen alongside on the front row.
'Tomorrow's going to be a challenge, I've never driven this car in the rain.'
Australian Oscar Piastri won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday to take the lead in the Formula One world championship
Lando Norris led a McLaren front row sweep in qualifying for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Saturday
The win was a first for Ferrari in Mexico since 1990 and fourth of Carlos Sainz's career.
Norris finished ninth in the drivers' standings last season.
Aston Martin's Lance Stroll collected a one-place grid drop for Sunday's race after stewards ruled the Canadian was to blame for the collision with Leclerc running into him at the hairpin.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri celebrated pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix, his 50th Formula One race, while dejected championship-leading teammate Lando Norris qualified sixth and said he had been "clueless on track".
Red Bull's Max Verstappen dealt Lando Norris a shattering blow in their Formula One title battle by winning a wet and chaotic Sao Paulo Grand Prix from 17th on the grid.
Max Verstappen claimed his sixth victory from nine races this season and the 60th of his Formula One career.
Bernie Ecclestone says his money is still on Red Bull's Max Verstappen to win the Formula One championship
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