Red Bull Racing star driver Max Verstappen may be a three-times champion of Formula One, but that doesn’t mean he can just rent a Mercedes-AMG GT liftback. At least, that’s what rental company Sixt said when it denied him a car capable of hitting 313 km/h (195 mph), The Sun reports.
The incident occurred in Portugal where the celebrity driver arrived on a vacation along with his family and friends. He was able to reserve the car remotely and was looking forward to driving it, but the rental service employees at the airport refused to let Verstappen behind the steering wheel.
Apparently, Sixt requires all drivers looking to rent an ultra-fast performance car to be 30 years old or older. Mentioning the fact that Verstappen won his first Formula 1 Grand Prix when he was 18 didn’t help; neither did the fact that he hit 343 km/h (213 mph) on the F1 track driving his RB19 racecar.
In the end, the car had to be driven by the racer’s manager, Raymond Vermeulen. Verstappen himself had to make do with a BMW 5-Series.
Sixt has already commented on the incident. The company emphasized that the workers were just following the rules, even though there are situations that occasionally call for breaking them. As such, the next time Verstappen will be looking to rent from Sixt, he will be able to get any car he wants.