Czech police finally arrest phantom F1 driver after six-year mystery
A blurred Formula 1 car passing by
It was a mystery which had been ongoing since 2019, but at last, police in the Czech Republic may have cracked the ‘phantom’ F1 driver case.
Driving a formula car decked out in a Ferrari Formula 1 livery (not one ever used by the actual F1 team), this phantom racing car driver had been spotted on the motorway and reported numerous times since 2019. Skip forward to 2025, and his career may be over.
Czech police arrest phantom Ferrari F1 driver
The driver in question had been driving a Dallara GP2 car in Ferrari F1 disguise. But, his latest race start could be his last. It will be of little surprise to hear that driving a formula car on public roads is not legal in the Czech Republic.
Police caught up with the formula machine and arrested a 51-year-old man.
“Thanks to information from drivers, we stopped a Formula driver this morning in the village of Buk who was speeding along the D4 motorway,” the official Czech Republic Police X account posted on Sunday.
“Police officers identified the driver as a 51-year-old man and then took him to the district police station for questioning.
“The driver of the car, who was stopped and identified by police officers, refused to comment on the situation when questioned.
“The police will refer the matter to administrative proceedings, where he faces a fine of several thousand crowns and a driving ban.”
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A video has since emerged, perpetrating to show the arrest.
With the phantom racer in the cockpit, helmet and race suit on, the video shows car and driver being towed by a road vehicle, to the audio backdrop of police sirens.
As the police walk up to the car, they ask the driver to get out. He tells them that they are on private property, and to leave. From there, the stand-off continues.
Eventually, the driver backs down, exits the car, and goes with the police, climbing into the police vehicle, still with helmet on.
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