Max Verstappen speaks out on 'extreme' weed at Las Vegas GP and being 'high in the car'

Max Verstappen joked that he was "quite high in the car" while driving around the Las Vegas Grand Prix circuit, pointing out the strong smell of marijuana during qualifying on Saturday.

Having guaranteed a starting position of fourth in Nevada, ahead of fellow title contender Lando Norris, the Red Bull man joined several drivers complaining about the legal substance in the American state.

Sergio Perez and Franco Colapinto previously noted the smell during Friday's practice sessions, with Verstappen confirming that he was very aware of the issue persisting the following day.

"Today you smelled it quite well. I was quite high in the car!" he joked to Dutch outlet Telegraaf. "It's not ideal, because you can also smell it while driving and it's quite extreme."

Drivers are banned from consuming drugs under the FIA's Anti-Doping regulations and there is no insinuation that a driver is at risk at the Sin City circuit.

And while cannabis, a B-class banned substance in the UK, is legal in Nevada, fans are prohibited from bringing drugs inside the gates of the 3.8-mile circuit.

Several attendees appear to have gotten the substance past security measures in Las Vegas, however, with Colapinto even joking that drivers would fail drug tests as a result.

“Yes, there was a smell of weed," the Williams star said before his crash in qualifying. “If they dope [test] the drivers now, I think we’ll all test positive, I swear - when we all test positive, there will be a mess."

While Verstappen's team-mate Perez, who suffered another disappointing outing and was eliminated in Q1, bemoaned the smell that engulfed the grid.

"What is very noticeable around the circuit is the smell of marijuana throughout the night," the Mexican driver said. "I'm a bit tired of it already - the amount is incredible. It's something all the drivers will definitely talk about."

Despite dealing with the lingering smell of marijuana while racing at high speed, Verstappen was pleased with a P4 start behind pole-setter George Russell, Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly.

"We tried to do the best we could," he told Sky Sports F1. "We worked well together. We tried a lot of different things to see what was the right direction.

"I think what we did was the right direction but still clearly not enough to fight for pole. I'm still quite happy. We are still in front of McLaren, which for me is a bit of a surprise but I'm quite happy with how qualifying went and my laps."