Mystery as F1 driver’s £350,000 Ferrari that was stolen in Italy during Grand Prix is found in London 28 years on

A FERRARI sports car stolen from a Formula One driver during a Grand Prix has been found by police – 28 years after it was taken.

The iconic red Ferrari F512M Testarossa belonged to Austrian racer Gerhard Berger when it was stolen during the San Marino Grand Prix in April 1995.

The Metropolitan Police were contacted by Ferrari after the car was flagged as stolen during checks made by the manufacturer during a sale.

An American buyer was trying to buy the classic vehicle through a UK-based broker when the alarm was raised – and the vehicle has now been impounded.

During the heist, Berger arrived in a hotel car park in Imola, Italy, where his vehicle was parked and found thieves inside his car.

Reportedly, the Austrian stood in the path of the fleeing robbers to try and stop them – and had to jump out of the way when thieves drove at him to make their getaway.

The sports car, which has been valued close to £350,000, was one of two Ferraris stolen in Imola at the time of the race in which Berger, now 64, finished third.

The Met’s Organised Vehicle Crime unit investigated the theft for four days and found that the car had been shipped to Japan shortly after it was stolen – before being brought to the UK in late 2023.

A second silver-grey Ferrari 355 belonging to Jean Alesi, Berger’s Ferrari teammate, is still missing.

Police Constable Mike Pilbeam, who led the investigation for the Met, said: “The stolen Ferrari – close to the value of £350,000 – was missing for more than 28 years before we managed to track it down in just four days.

“Our enquiries were painstaking and included contacting authorities from around the world.

“We worked quickly with partners including the National Crime Agency, as well as Ferrari and international car dealerships, and this collaboration was instrumental in understanding the vehicle’s background and stopping it from leaving the country.”