A Ferrari road car which was stolen from Gerhard Berger in 1995 has been recovered by the British Metropolitan Police.
The Ferrari F512M was one of two cars stolen during that year’s San Marino Grand Prix, held at the Imola circuit in Italy.The two-seater car, a revised version of the original 512, was launched in late 1994. It has a five-litre, 12-cylinder engine which produces 440bhp, powering the car to a top speed of 315kph. Berger’s F512M is valued at £350,000.
Berger’s car was discovered after it arrived in the UK late last year. The Met was alerted to its appearance by Ferrari as a US buyer attempted to purchase it through a British sales broker.
The car was taken to Japan shortly after its theft, according to the Met’s Organised Vehicle Crime Unit.
Investigation leader police constable Mike Pilbeam said his team tracked the car down “in just four days” after learning of it.
“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.”
The 1995 season was Berger’s last as a Ferrari driver. He scored five of his 10 grand prix victories for the team, the last at the Hockenheimring in 1994. He and team mate Jean Alesi finished on the podium at the round where the Ferraris were stolen.
Don't miss anything new from RaceFans
Follow RaceFans on social media:
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Formula 1
- F1 CEO Domenicali wants more than six sprint races per year
- Hulkenberg named Audi’s first F1 driver for 2026
- Ricciardo needs to show “head-turning form” for 2025 chance – Horner
- F1 Commission defers decision on points change and approves new rear cameras
- Red Bull’s star designer Newey to leave team – reports
Talby (@maichael)
4th March 2024, 12:57
Four days of work in just 28 years.
John Beak (@johnbeak)
4th March 2024, 13:02
28, Gerhard’s lucky number.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
4th March 2024, 13:44
@johnbeak Good point, that completely passed me by while writing this!
Asd
4th March 2024, 14:04
This made me look into why Ferrari used no. 27 i 28 for most of the seasons from 1981 until 1995, except for 1990 when it was used by McLaren (driver by Senna and…. Berger).
“The numbering system used in F1 then, basically amounted to ‘keep your numbers from year to year, unless one of your drivers wins the WDC, in which case you swap with last year’s champion (who have ‘1’ and ‘2’).’
Scheckter won the WDC in ’79 in a Ferrari, so Ferrari were ‘1’ and ‘2’ in 1980. Williams was ’27’ and ’28’. Williams (Jones) won the championship that year, so they swapped with Ferrari. Ferrari didn’t win anything for the next 10 years, so they stayed ’27’ and ’28’.
Then in ’90, Prost arrived fresh off his ’89 WDC with McLaren and brought the ‘1’ with him. McLaren had to swap with Ferrari and thus had ’27’ and ’28’ that year belonged to Senna and Berger. Senna promptly won the WDC back, and therefore Ferrari and McLaren swapped again and Ferrari went back to 27 and 28.
Finally, in ’96, they ditched the old system for a new one based on the WCC rankings. Ferrari had hired Schumacher, so they were 1 and 2 again.”
Asd
4th March 2024, 14:05
“from 1981 TO 1995” not ‘until’
SteveP
4th March 2024, 15:28
Why?
If was a numeric sequence 1,981 TO 1,995 is correct, but A.D. 1981 until A.D. 1995 would be fine (A.D. or CE being implied by the context)
Asd
4th March 2024, 19:54
SteveP
“Until [sth or some time]” points to a change in presence or abscence of a cryterion for something to be or happen.
I will work until I die. = I work -> I die -> I no longer work.
I will work until Friday = I work -> it becomes Friday -> I no longer work.
Schumacher drove for Benetton from 1991 to 1995. He moved to Ferrari for 1996.
Schumacher drove for Benetton from 1991 until 1996, when he moved to Ferrari.
Tommy Scragend
4th March 2024, 16:42
Precisely.
I’ve never really got why Gilles Villeneuve is so indelibly associated with 27. He only raced with that number for one-and-a-bit seasons, 1981 until his death in 1982. He raced with 40, 21 and 11 in his debut year of 1977, 12 for two full seasons in 1978 and 1979, and then 2 in 1980 when Scheckter was reigning champion. All the footage of Imola 1982 (and sadly Zolder as well) are what as cemented him as being 27.
It’s the same with George Best. Ask most people what was George Best’s shirt number at United and most will say 7. But in a lot of the most famous footage of him he is wearing various different numbers.
They didn’t win anything for a good few years after that either!
Tommy Scragend
4th March 2024, 16:43
*are what cemented him*
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
4th March 2024, 14:30
Nobody’s picked 28 as their race number yet, have they? (Unless it was a long-forgotten driver for Manor or Toro Rosso). Maybe it’s seen as a “number two’s number”…
notagrumpyfan
4th March 2024, 15:08
Will Stevens and Brandon Hartley.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
4th March 2024, 15:27
Haha, I was right! Had completely forgotten about those two…
AlexS
4th March 2024, 17:50
I will never forget Berger accident on Imola. I thought no one could have survived it.
The marshalls were 5 stars, in a couple seconds they moved to the car on fire- while other cars were doing 300kph – and using the fire extinguishers.
BasCB (@bascb)
4th March 2024, 18:27
Great spot John, yeah!
Coventry Climax
4th March 2024, 13:15
Brilliant, but it boils down to it taking them 28 years minus 4 days to ‘learn of it’. Painstaking enquiries indeed..
Did he have ‘painstaking’ F1/FiA media training by any chance?
Martin (@f1hornet)
4th March 2024, 13:47
In fairness, it seems from the article above that the car was stolen in Italy, and discovered when imported to the UK late last year. So the British police acted quickly, but maybe the Italian police less so!
ADUB SMALLBLOCK (@waptraveler)
4th March 2024, 13:49
Also, it seems the car was taken to Japan shortly after the original theft. Can’t expect the British police to do a lot of investigating in Japan, especially if they don’t know it’s there..,
ADUB SMALLBLOCK (@waptraveler)
4th March 2024, 13:50
To be clear, my comment is in agreement with yours.
ppzzus (@ppzzus)
4th March 2024, 15:31
to be fair its a single stolen car, how much time do you expect them to spend on it?
anon
4th March 2024, 16:53
Coventry Climax, as others noted, your post suggests that you’ve not actually read the article properly and were more interested in making a snide remark.
The history of the case is that, in April 1995, the cars were stolen during the San Marino GP from the car park of the hotel that Alesi and Berger were staying in. The cars were then shipped almost immediately to Japan, and then stayed there for the next 28 years.
When the cars entered the UK, the Organised Vehicle Crime Unit recognised that the cars were registered as stolen – that is the point at which the UK’s police forces became involved, since it was only when the cars entered the UK that they would have had jurisdiction to act.
If you want to criticise a police force for failing to act, you might be better aiming your ire at the Japanese police instead and asking why they didn’t pick up that the car was stolen for 28 years.
Coventry Climax
5th March 2024, 0:04
Yeah you’re right; the Birmingham Six was a lot faster.
Coventry Climax
4th March 2024, 13:21
Didn’t know they fetched such prices!
Explains they’re easy to steal though.
To me though, that’s just an uglied Testarossa.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
4th March 2024, 14:03
Yeah, I had to click on the link to see what car it was. It didn’t age well. I guess it was that period in the 90s where manufacturers were moving away from pop-up headlights but decided to “modernize” their oldies anyway… the Diablo suffered the same fate, it looked weird without them.
AlexS
4th March 2024, 17:46
Seems Ferrari has a database of cars that have been stolen and they are following sales to warn the police. Good on them.
Jere (@jerejj)
4th March 2024, 18:24
I initially misread the headline that the car would’ve been stolen recently after 28 or rather nearly 29 years of having it only to realize the opposite scenario being the case.
Nevertheless, I’m surprised finding the car/getting it back took, coincidently, my age worth of years.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
4th March 2024, 19:44
It’s nice to read at least one good F1 news story this week. I’m sure Gerhard would rather have had it for the last three decades but the fact it has reappeared is a pleasant surprise. This is probably a naive question, but I genuinely don’t know the answer; if his insurance paid out on it in the 90’s, does he still get it back?
MacLeod (@macleod)
5th March 2024, 8:08
No he has first right to buy it back… but it could be much higher price then the paid out.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
5th March 2024, 12:33
@macleod Thank you!
SteveR (@stever)
4th March 2024, 20:07
Is this April 1? Someone has to be having a joke; Mike Pilbeam is a car designer and founder of Pilbeam Racing Designs.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
4th March 2024, 21:05
It’s in good nick (excuse the pun) – probably much better condition than if Berger had kept it!
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
4th March 2024, 22:50
Should know better than to try import something into the UK after brexit!
Coventry Climax
5th March 2024, 0:21
Haha, try exporting from the UK.
Took nearly four months to get some parts from the UK, but then maybe that’s also because DHL was involved:
FYI, that’s the company that hauls your goods all over the world to then have a local, heavily underpaid delivery guy in a free, twelve year old DHL shirt, but having to run his own car, incorrectly report your address as incorrect. Ofcourse they don’t contact you about that, you’ll have to contact them. Apart from knowing quite well what my own address is, and having made sure it’s on the package correctly too, any sensible delivery company would check such things at the moment they accept the goods for delivery and before shipping it. Best way to lose a package? DHL!
Still Gilles
4th March 2024, 23:50
The cars were probably owned by their employer. I certainly wouldn’t take my Ferrari to Monza!
Mooa42
5th March 2024, 2:56
I don’t get it.
They were alerted to the car entering the uk, a sales broker was trying to sell it and Ferrari let them know and then they spent four days finding it but haven’t arrested anyone? Surely that seems to suggest a decent amount of evidence to track someone down?
AlexS
5th March 2024, 10:43
Maybe all people currently with present relation to the car thought the car was legitimately owned.
Now with Ferraris being treated as Art investments, things are changing and the ownership chain starts to be important.
From the text it looks like Ferrari is tracking public 2nd hand Ferrari selling and they have a database of those stolen.
PlosslF1
5th March 2024, 19:59
When asked about the find Berger was heard to reply “Oh God No, do I have to give the Insurer the money back an take possession of it”