Formula One world champion Max Verstappen ‘could face prosecution’ in France for driving 20mph over the speed limit in Aston Martin’s new £3million hypercar in a video near Monaco
- The Dutch driver has been enjoying a well-deserved break during the F1 season
- But his disregard of the French speed limit on motorways could have consequences
- Max Verstappen is brutally told he will NEVER be as good as the best Formula 1 drivers
Footage has been circulating on social media of Red Bull driver Max Verstappen seemingly breaking the French speed limit while driving a £2.7million Aston Martin ‘hypercar’.
The two-time world champion has been enjoying some time off at the height of the Formula 1 season and last week holidayed in Sardinia with his F1 scion girlfriend Kelly Piquet.
But the undated video appears to show the Monaco-based driver back in his home on the Riviera, cruising down the A8 motorway at breakneck speed.
Filmed by his friend Mark Cox, who posted the video on Instagram, the Dutch driver can be seen maneuvering the Aston Martin Valkyrie through the motorway’s Canta-Galet tunnel on the outskirts of Nice.
The video shows the dashboard speedometer showing a speed of 77 mph (124 km/h) – 14 mph above the freeway speed limit of 68 mph (110 km/h).
Max Verstappen took his £2.7million Aston Martin Valkyrie for a spin on the French Riviera
But with his 124 km/h fast tunnel journey, the two-time world champion disregarded the speed limits
Speed limits in tunnels such as Canta-Galet will be further reduced to 55 mph (77 km/h) in the region.
But the 25-year-old didn’t pay attention to the rules of the motorway as he drove out of the tunnel into the sun of the Côte d’Azur in the left lane with one hand – a violation of the traffic regulations.
Verstappen also wore helicopter headphones, which are standard on the Adrian Newey-designed behemoth due to the noise generated by the car’s 12-cylinder engine.
Drivers are alerted to traffic signals and sirens via a microphone outside the vehicle, which relays the sound to the noise-cancelling headphones.
Wearing headphones while driving is banned in France and Nice-Matin surmised it wouldn’t be implausible if Verstappen was prosecuted for posting the video.
Many fans have expressed their anger at the video, with some commenting that his behavior was “endangering the lives of others”.
Red Bull has been contacted for comment.
Enjoying the views of the Alpes-Maritimes, one might suspect the driver is in a hurry to get back on track ahead of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, his home race.
But although Verstappen is hoping for a third title in a row, he has at times appeared pessimistic in interviews and frequently hinted at the possibility of an early retirement.
At the end of April he criticized the calendar and warned of a possible burnout: “If we keep expanding the calendar and the whole weekend is so long, at some point you ask yourself: ‘Is it worth it?'”
The Dutch rider is enjoying the mid-season break with girlfriend Kelly Piquet and taking a trip to Sardinia
In the last race before the break, victory in Spa was Verstappen’s eighth win in a row
But the driver has warned of the dangers of burnout and hinted at a life away from the sport
“I like racing, I like winning.” I know, of course, the salary and everything, you have a good life, but is it really a good life? I think sometimes you get to a point in your career where you might want to do other things.
“I know I have a contract until the end of 2028 and then we will review it again.” But I feel like it’s time for a change if at some point it gets too much.”
At mid-season, Verstappen is at the top of the drivers’ standings with a whopping 314 points.
His closest rival is teammate Sergio Perez, who has amassed a comparatively paltry 189 points.