Max Verstappen was not allowed to drive a Mercedes-AMG GT in Portugal during his holiday. The staff of the car rental firm explained he was too young to drive a car that can do 195 mph.
Three-time F1 World Champion Max Verstappen is the man who constantly hits 220 mph (354 kph) during races. But outside the track, rules are different. During his holiday in Portugal, the 26-year old wanted to rent a Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe to drive on public roads and track. But he was denied the car because he was "too young" to drive the model, which is able to hit a top speed of 195.7 mph (315 kph).
Max wanted to rent the car from rental firm Sixt on his holiday. But, in order to be able to leave with the AMG four-door coupe with a valid insurance policy, he needed to be 30 years old or older.
Ironically, it was a car from the manufacturer that his team, Red Bull Racing, has been battling in the Formula One championship for the past decade. Instead, he had to settle for a less powerful model, a BMW 5 Series sedan, which could go as fast as 155.3 mph (250 kph).
A Sixt spokesperson said that "In order to find a customer-friendly solution on site, Mr. Verstappen was provided with another premium vehicle." It was his manager, Raymond Vermeulen, who ended up driving the Mercedes-AMG GT after all.
Photo: Mercedes-AMG
The same spokesperson explains that there can be circumstances when a deviation from the rules can be accepted and this was such a case. The firm apologized to Max Verstappen and said that, from now on, he can rent any car he wants from them, adding that they have no doubt about his driving skills and experience with powerful cars.
Verstappen had flown to Algarve in Portugal together with his family and friends on three private jets on Monday. They rented around 20 cars from Sixt at the Faro International Airport, with the AMG GT being one of the 20, as reported by The Sun.
But when they arrived at the airport, and the rental firm staff checked everyone's IDs, 26-year old pro driver was shocked to find out that he was denied the high-performance sedan. The party had also rented the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve racing circuit for a two-day adventure at the track.
Max Verstappen joined Formula 1 in 2015 and raced for the first time when he was 17 years and 165 days. The next season, driving for Red Bull Racing, the Dutch won his first Grand Prix at the age of 18 in Spain, becoming the youngest-ever driver to win a race in the competition. He won 53 more races from that moment on and went up on the podium 98 times.
Google News