Stolen 28 Years Ago, London Police Find F1 Racer Gerhard Berger's Ferrari in Four Days

The Ferrari belonging to the Berger dollar which was found by the London Police. (Source: Metropolitan Police)

JAKARTA - The London Metropolitan Police (The Met), England, have succeeded in recovering the Ferrari car belonging to Formula 1 (F1) racer Gerhard Berger which was stolen almost three decades ago and is thought to have wandered around the world.

The Ferrari in question is a red Ferrari F512M Testarossa which is estimated to be worth £350,000. The car was stolen from the 10-time Austrian Grand Prix winner while he was competing in the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola in April 1995.

Berger, who is now 64 years old, reportedly encountered the thieves as they fled in his car. However, he failed to catch them in his friend's Volkswagen Golf.

At the time, Italian police said they believed the cars were likely stolen on order.

Meanwhile, The Met said its officers received a report from the legendary Italian carmaker in January this year, after they carried out an inspection of a car purchased by a US buyer through a British broker last year.

Gerhard Berger's Ferrari was recovered by London Police. (Source: Metropolitan Police)

The Met's Organized Vehicle Crime Unit discovered the car had been shipped to Japan shortly after it was stolen, before being brought to the UK in late 2023.

Officers then confiscated it and prevented it from being exported.

The Met's Mike Pilbeam, who led the investigation, said the team's investigation was "extremely exhaustive and included contacting authorities from around the world", but the result was that the car was recovered quickly.

"The stolen Ferrari – worth close to £350,000 – was missing for more than 28 years before we managed to track it down in just four days," he explained, as reported by The National News, March 20.

"We worked quickly with partners including the National Crime Agency, as well as Ferrari and international car dealers, and this collaboration was instrumental in understanding the background of the vehicle and stopping it from leaving the country."

Interestingly, when Berger's Ferrari was stolen, Jean Alessi's silver gray Ferrari F335 was also stolen. Both drivers competed for the Ferrari Formula One team at the time.

The Met's Organized Vehicle Crime Unit is a small team consisting 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 £31 million. Of these, 326 were linked to organized criminal gangs, accounting for £21 million of the total value of the vehicles seized.

Berger competed in Formula One for 14 seasons, finishing third overall in the 1988 and 1994 championships, both times driving for Ferrari. He finished his career with the Benetton team and has continued his career as a sports pundit since his retirement.