F1 Champion Verstappen Too Young to Rent Sports Car
Max Verstappen's job is to drive very powerful cars very, very fast.
If you haven't heard of him, he's the Formula One world champion — in 2023 he won his third world title for the Red Bull team.
His racing car can travel at speeds of up to 350 kilometers per hour, and right now in his sport, there is nobody better at doing what he does.
But when he's off the track, even the world's fastest driver has to follow the same rules as the rest of us.
That's why, according to The Sun newspaper, when 26-year-old Verstappen tried to rent a powerful Mercedes-AMG GT while on holiday in Portugal, the rental company said, "No."
Sixt, the rental company, does not let drivers under the age of 30 rent its most powerful cars, for insurance reasons.
Even if that driver is the Formula One champion!
So the Belgium-born driver had to get a BMW 5 Series instead, according to reports.
The BMW has a top speed that's just a little lower than the Mercedes.
Verstappen had been visiting Portugal with friends and family. The group had booked two days at a race track in the southern Algarve region to drive their cars around for fun.
However, the rental company later said sorry to Verstappen. It told The Sun that the employee had just been following the company rules.
And it added that if he wants to rent the Mercedes another time, this would not be a problem!
The company said: "There is of course no doubt at all about his driving skills and his experience with powerful cars."
