By Jim Leffman
A £350,000 Ferrari stolen from Austrian Formula 1 racing driver Gerhard Berger 28 years ago had been recovered by British police.
The red Ferrari F512M was one of two Ferraris stolen from drivers at the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Italy, in April 1995.
Ferrari tipped off the Met police in January after they caried out checks on a car being bought by a US buyer via a UK broker in 2023, which revealed it was stolen.
Officers from the Organised Vehicle Crime Unit carried out extensive enquiries across the world which revealed it had been shipped to Japan shortly after being stolen until it was brought to the UK in late 2023.
Establishing the history of the vehicle in just four days, Gerhard Berger’s Ferrari was tracked down and was moved to the Met’s possession to prevent the car from being exported from the UK.
Gerhard Berger raced for Ferrari, winning 10 Grand Prix over 14 seasons, coming in the top three in 48 races and twice finishing third overall in the 1980s and 90s.
Her also drove for Benetton and McLaren during his career.
PC Mike Pilbeam, who led the investigation, 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.”
Enquiries remain ongoing and no arrests have been made. The second car remains missing.
The Met’s Organised Vehicle Crime Unit is a small team of experienced vehicle examiners, police officers and staff with a wealth of knowledge.
In 2023, the unit recovered 418 vehicles, with a combined value of £31m. Of these, 326 have been linked to organised criminal gangs, making up £21m of the total value of vehicles seized.
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