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The red flags came out on lap 15 after a five-lap safety car
period triggered by Mick Schumacher crashing his Haas into the
barriers on Jeddah's super-fast and unforgiving Corniche street
circuit.
That first stoppage appeared to play into the hands of
Verstappen, who had stayed out while seven-times champion
Hamilton pitted for fresh tyres from first after starting on
pole position.
"Why is it a red flag?" Hamilton asked over the team radio. "The
tyre wall looks fine... It's unbelievable, man."
With cars returning to the pits, Verstappen's Red Bull team were
able to change his tyres without the need for a further stop
during the race.
That advantage disappeared, however, when the re-run standing
start also brought out more red flags and Verstappen fell foul
of the stewards.
Hamilton made the better getaway but Verstappen went off track
to keep the lead, with Alpine's Esteban Ocon forcing his way
past Hamilton into second place.
"I had to avoid a collision there," exclaimed Hamilton. "He cut
across the whole kerb. He just overtook me outside the white
line."
The race was halted when Haas's Russian rookie Nikita Mazepin
and Williams' George Russell collided at the start while
Verstappen's team mate Sergio Perez spun and was hit by
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
Debris was strewn across the track, bordered by concrete walls
and little in the way of runoff.
In an extraordinary sequence of radio exchanges, race director
Michael Masi then offered Red Bull the "opportunity" to line up
on the grid for the third standing start behind Hamilton, with
Ocon in the lead.
"You'd be back behind Lewis," said the Australian. "That is my
offer."
"We accept that," came the reply from Red Bull's team manager
Jonathan Wheatley.
Verstappen then seized the lead.
The Dutch driver leads Hamilton by eight points with only one
race remaining after Sunday. The youngster will be champion if
he scores 18 points more than the Briton.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Clare Fallon
and Christian Radnedge)
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