- F1 driver Gerhard Berger's stolen Ferrari F512M was recovered after 28 years.
- Police believe the car was taken to Japan soon after it was stolen, and then shipped to the UK.
A Ferrari stolen from Formula 1 legend Gerhard Berger nearly three decades ago has been recovered by British police.
Berger was at the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Italy, in April 1995 when his red Ferrari F512M, worth around $443,500, went missing.
The 10-time Grand Prix winner witnessed the car being driven away and attempted to chase the thief but could not catch them, The London Evening Standard reported.
The car was reported missing, but there was no trace of it until January of this year, when it was discovered in the UK, according to a press release issued by Britain's Metropolitan Police on Monday.
Ferrari contacted the police in January after checks on the car, purchased by a US buyer via a UK broker, showed it was stolen.
The Organised Vehicle Crime Unit took four days to investigate the car's history, tracing back 28 years to when it was stolen from Berger.
"Our enquiries were painstaking and included contacting authorities from around the world," said PC Mike Pilbeam, who led the investigation.
"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."
The investigation showed the car had been shipped to Japan shortly after being stolen before being taken to the UK in 2023. No arrests have been made in connection with the theft, and an investigation is still ongoing.
The car was originally taken during the same weekend as another F1 driver's car was stolen. That car has yet to be recovered.
According to The Standard, the second stolen car was a silver-grey Ferrari 355 belonging to Jean Alesi, the French race driver who competed in F1 between 1989 and 2001.
The recovery of Berger's car is significant during a period when criminals are finding new, technologically advanced methods to steal luxury vehicles.
In 2021, it was reported that thieves were using Apple AirTags to track luxury vehicles from public places to their owners' homes. Thieves have also tried to steal cars from driveways using electronic gadgets to pick up signals from keys inside homes.
Ferrari did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives for Gerhard Berger could not be reached.