Gerhard Berger of Austria, in Hockenheim, Germany, after a finishing third place at the German F1 Grand Prix in 1995.Roland Weihrauch/The Associated Press
A very fast car has made a very slow return.
British police said Monday that they have recovered a Ferrari stolen from Austrian Formula One driver Gerhard Berger in Italy almost three decades ago.
The red Ferrari F512M was one of two sports cars taken while their drivers were in Imola for the San Marino Grand Prix in April 1995.
Neither was ever found, until London’s Metropolitan Police force was tipped off by the manufacturer in January that a Ferrari in the process of being sold to a U.S. buyer by a U.K. broker had been flagged as a stolen vehicle.
The force’s Organized Vehicle Crime Unit investigated and found the car had been brought to Britain from Japan in late 2023. Officers seized the car, which the force said is valued at close to 350,000 pounds ($444,000).
“Our inquiries were painstaking and included contacting authorities from around the world,” said Constable 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.”
No one has been arrested, and the second stolen Ferrari remains missing.
Ferrari manufactured 501 of the F512M model between 1994 and 1996. The car has a top speed of 315 kilometers an hour (196 miles per hour).