F1 Driver's Stolen Ferrari F512 M Finally Recovered 28 Years Later

Photo: Metropolitan Police

Gerhard Berger, the Austrian Formula 1 driver who competed for 14 seasons and at one point owned half of Scuderia Toro Rosso, probably thought his Ferrari F512 M had disappeared for good. After all, it was stolen in Imola, Italy all the way back in 1995 when Berger was there for the San Marino Grand Prix. If it hadn’t been found after more than 25 years, what hope was there that it would ever resurface? And yet, it somehow was recovered some 28 years later, the Guardian reports.

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However, it wasn’t recovered as a result of any clever police work. Instead, Ferrari discovered that the stolen car was located in the UK and was about to be sold to a buyer in the United States. The Italian automaker then alerted local authorities who sent the force’s organized crime task force to seize it so it couldn’t be exported. As it turned out, the car had been shipped out of Europe to Japan before eventually returning to the UK late last year.

In a statement, Police Constable Mike Pilbeam, who headed up the recovery said:

The stolen Ferrari, close to the value of £350,000 [approximagely $444,000], was missing for more than 28 years before we managed to track it down in just four days.

Our inquiries 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.

So far, though, no arrests have been made, although it’s possible that may change as the investigation continues. It’s also not clear what is going to happen to the Ferrari. Presumably, Berger would have no right to it assuming he took the insurance payout. Still, it’s possible he may be interested in buying it back from whomever it rightfully belongs to simply for the nostalgia factor. After all, how many other stolen cars turn up after nearly 30 years?