The 24-year-old Briton beat Carlos Sainz in the leading Ferrari by 0.044 seconds with a best lap time of one minute and 17.377 seconds. One-tenth of a second behind in the second Ferrari was Charles Leclerc.
Prior to the two Alpines of two-time champion Fernando Alonso and last year’s winner Esteban Ocon, who turned 41 on Friday, Lando Norris took fourth for McLaren.
Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton qualified ahead of his former teammate Valtteri Bottas of Alfa Romeo in eighth place after his Mercedes’ Drag Reduction System (DRS) failed on his final flying lap.
After experiencing power failure issues and failing to set a competitive lap time, Red Bull’s series leader and world champion Verstappen finished 10th and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo placed ninth.