Car rental company refuses to lend Mercedes-AMG GT to Max Verstappen, they say he is too fast for him
25.12.2023 | Petr Miler
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Photo: Red Bull Racing, press materials
“Super Max” didn’t even get such a cold shower from Sebastian Vettel at the victory ceremony. The case only reminds us that rules defined by objective parameters are necessary, but they can never reasonably reflect the reality of life.
Max Verstappen certainly did not expect such a Christmas present. As part of the Formula 1 winter break, he went with his family and friends to spend part of the Christmas holidays in Portugal, where a very unpleasant surprise awaited him right after arriving in the Algarve. He arrived at the place in his private jet, and the whole group was then to continue the journey with the help of cars borrowed from the Sixt car rental company. Max – perhaps surprisingly given his former rivalry with Lewis Hamilton – ordered a Mercedes-AMG GT 63 in its four-door version, which is quite a suitable car for the Formula 1 champion and his family. But not according to Sixt.
After checking the documents, the car rental company informed him that it could not lend him such a car because it was – hold on – too fast for him. What about the fact that he regularly drives at speeds over 350 km/h with his finger in his nose, the AMG GT, which in various versions drives at speeds of around 315 km/h, is suddenly too much for him. And it’s not just that, Verstappen is by all accounts one of the best drivers this world has ever known, this has been proven since childhood in countless disciplines that he gradually mastered. He managed to win a Formula 1 grand prix before he even had a driver’s license, and in recent years he has rewritten almost half of the all-time records of the queen of motorsport. For Sixt, none of this means anything – he is still only 26 years old and the rental company requires an older age to provide an AMG GT, end of debate.
That the case happened was confirmed by a Sixt spokesperson, who did not dwell on the above: “In an effort to find a friendly solution on the spot, Mr. Verstappen was given another premium vehicle from our offer,” Sixt’s statement reads. In the end, Max’s manager, Raymond Vermeulen, got the AMG GT, and we suspect that the two cars were swapped after a while. But it is fascinating that they had to look for such a “Czech way” in order to achieve their goal in such a clear case.
On the one hand, of course, we understand that the car rental company has rules that people in its offices must respect. And it undoubtedly stems from the insurance contracts that guarantee Sixt lower premium prices when they don’t lend cars of certain capabilities to certain statistically at-risk groups. This all makes sense, but when you’re standing face to face with a three-time F1 world champion, you can’t tell him to his face that you won’t lend him a car for reasons like that, that’s a marketing faux pas of the highest order. Sixt could show its flexibility and provide the car to Max, for example, with the fact that he cannot insure it due to his age and the risk goes to him – it would be for him due to his assets (and also the fact that he did not crash even during races this year… ) doesn’t matter at all and Sixt wouldn’t risk anything. Instead, the regulation remained the regulation, and instead of good marketing, Sixt has a coat of shame…
Honda? But certainly Mr. Verstappen… Photo: Honda
But you’re too young for the Mercedes-AMG GT 4D and its speed, that’s how German Sixt sees things. Photo: Sixt
Sources: The Sun, Sixt
Petr Miler
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