Grocery chain must pay F1 driver Max Verstappen €150,000 for lookalike ad

Online supermarket Picnic must pay Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen compensation of 150 thousand euros for using a lookalike of the F1 driver in an online video. By doing so, Picnic infringed on Verstappen's portrait rights, the court ruled, NOS reports.

According to Picnic, the video was meant as a joke. It made it look like Verstappen was delivering groceries for the company. Picnic said that the video was made for the staff, and it was taken offline shortly after it was posted.

Verstappen demanded 400 thousand euros in compensation, among other things because the video quickly spread to other sites. He based the amount on what he would charge to be at the opening of a supermarket - for three hours' attendance he would get 100 thousand euros, excluding VAT. The judge decided on lower compensation because the video was taken down by Picnic relatively quickly.

Still, this is one of the largest compensations ever awarded in this kind of case. Previously Louis van Gaal received 25 thousand euros in compensation after his image as trainer of the Dutch national football team was used in an advertisement, according to NOS.

"We are really very surprised", Michiel Muller of Picnic said to the broadcaster. "The amount that the judge determined is really bizarrely high. We don't agree with the court's ruling an we will definitely appeal."