Max Verstappen was recently denied testing current F1 rivals’ $100,000 car for being too young

Max Verstappen was reportedly denied driving a Mercedes AMG GT earlier on his vacation to Portugal because of being too young.

The three-time world champion made his F1 debut back in 2015 with Toro Rosso and went on to win his first race in the season that followed with Red Bull. He still holds the record for being the youngest Formula 1 Grand Prix winner at 18 years and 228 days. Despite being a professional driver at 26 years of age, he was denied to drive a Mercedes AMG GT in Algarve, Portugal.

As The Sun reported, he had gone to the country for a vacation and rented a Mercedes from Sixt, a car renting company. He was then refused because, according to the rules, he needed to be at least 30 years old to drive a car that fast. The Sun wrote:

"When they got to the airport, Max was shocked when he was told he wasn’t allowed to drive the Mercedes he wanted."

"He’s a seasoned F1 driver who’s used to handling powerful cars, so it’s quite astonishing to think he wasn’t allowed to get behind the wheel of this one — but those are the rules, so he abided by them," they added.

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Car Rental apologizes to Max Verstappen for not fulfilling his request

It seems apparent that an F1 driver like Max Verstappen would be hammered down when not allowed to drive a car for not fulfilling the criteria. While it is unclear how the Dutchman felt about the situation, Sixt did clarify themselves, stating that the rules are set because of "insurance reasons" (via Sportsmanor):

"The employees of our franchise partner in Portugal have only followed the rules that arise for insurance reasons."

Further, they stated that another car was provided to Max Verstappen on-site.

"In order to find a customer-friendly solution on site, Mr Verstappen was provided with another premium vehicle. However, there can be special circumstances that justify a deviation from rules. This is such a case.

We apologize to Mr. Verstappen. He can rent the car he wants from us at any time. There is of course no doubt at all about his driving skills and his experience with powerful cars."

Max Verstappen's driving skills with a fast car became clear as he pulled his way through the 2023 season of F1, winning his third consecutive world championship and breaking multiple records. There were only three races that he did not win in the Red Bull RB19, marking 19 victories in a single season, a new F1 world record.

As the 2024 season awaits, it is expected that the team might not have a similar domination, analyzing the progress their competitors (Ferrari and Mercedes) made later in the season.