Sport Gerhard Berger
This Ferrari was stolen from a Formula 1 driver in 1995 – now it’s back
Status: 04.03.2024 | Reading time: 2 minutes
Photograph from the Metropolitan Police: Berger’s stolen Ferrari
Those: dpa/Metropolitan Police
29 years ago Gerhard Berger fought against the young Michael Schumacher in Formula 1. At the race in Imola, the Austrian was robbed and his Ferrari was gone. Now the London police report that they have found the sports car.
British investigators have seized a sports car that was stolen from Austrian Formula 1 racing driver Gerhard Berger almost 29 years ago. The Ferrari was stolen in April 1995 in Italy, where the San Marino Grand Prix was taking place in Imola.
Now the car worth around 350,000 pounds (the equivalent of a good 400,000 euros) has been seized, as the Metropolitan Police in London announced on Monday. The British were called in by Ferrari in January after the company reviewed a car sale by a British broker to a US buyer. It turned out that the car was stolen.
Berger’s Ferrari from the inside
Those: dpa/Metropolitan Police
Investigators from a unit that specializes in organized crime involving vehicles then initiated extensive investigations. The car was shipped to Japan shortly after it was stolen until it was brought to Great Britain at the end of 2023, according to the police statement. The vehicle was then confiscated to prevent export.
At that time, a second sports car was found
No one was initially arrested and the investigation is ongoing. In addition to the red Ferrari F512M, a second sports car was also stolen in Italy. The investigators in London wrote that the second vehicle was still missing
Retired, but still close: Berger (left) last weekend at the race in Bahrain with Helmut Marko from the Red Bull team
Quelle: Getty Images/Clive Rose
Gerhard Berger drove in Formula 1 between 1984 and 1997 and completed a total of 210 races, winning ten of them. After his career, he worked as an official in motorsport, including as BMW Motorsport Director and head of the German Touring Car Championship (DTM). Berger is also an entrepreneur and runs a logistics company.
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The race in Imola was quite successful for Berger despite the loss. The Austrian came third in the Ferrari, with Damon Hill winning in the Williams-Renault. The young Michael Schumacher had already retired in the tenth lap due to a defect in his Benetton.
