F1 ace Gerhard Berger’s £350,000 stolen Ferrari found after 30 years: Met police solve 1995 crime

The Met Police has taken possession of a 1995 Ferrari F512M stolen from Formula 1 driver Gerhard Berger at the San Marino Grand Prix in Italy almost thirty years ago.

The Met was acting on a tip-off from Ferrari itself, which had carried out checks on the vehicle as it was being bought in late 2023 from a UK broker by a buyer in the US. Ferrari’s checks suggested it was one of a pair of cars stolen from the race track in 1995, and further inquiries revealed it had been shipped to Japan immediately after being stolen.

The Met says it spent four days establishing the Ferrari’s chequered history. PC “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,” said PC Mike Pilbeam, the officer in charge of the investigation.

“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.”

Sadly, there’s no sign of the second missing Ferrari, and the investigation has yet to lead to any arrests - although the Met says “enquiries are ongoing”.

The vehicle’s recovery is being credited to the force’s Organised Vehicle Crime Unit, which recovered a total of 418 vehicles last year, with a total value of £31 million. Two thirds of the crimes it dealt with have been linked to organised crime, it says.

Chris covers all aspects of motoring life for Auto Express. Over a long career he has contributed news and car reviews to brands such as Autocar, WhatCar?, PistonHeads, Goodwood and The Motor Trader.