Motorists in the Czech Republic were left flabbergasted as a vintage Ferrari Grand Prix car casually cruised down the road.
Last week, numerous videos were posted on social media of the car speeding down the D4 motorway which runs out of Prague in the Czech Republic to the border with Germany. The car appeared to be a GP2 car, blending in amongst other everyday vehicles.
However, it is illegal to drive cars of that type on the motorway in a central European country. And in another twist to the saga, three years ago police investigated a similar incident that occurred in the same area.
In 2019, the same car was spotted driving down the same section of motorway, which led to an enquiry. Officers managed to track down the owner of the Ferrari, but the suspect denied he was behind the wheel at the time.
Subsequently, police could not prove their case as the driver was wearing a racing helmet that concealed identity, so no charges were brought against the suspect. And fortunately so for whoever was behind the wheel, as they avoided a £347 fine and a one-year ban from driving.
One account to post a video of the incident on Twitter was @F1_Images, who said: "Just a GP2 car in Ferrari colours cruising up a highway in the Czech Republic. Police have not been able to identify the illegal joyrider and are looking for him for questioning."
The post prompted some favourable responses, with @Haaalo14 mocking the recent strategic errors that have derailed Charles Leclerc's world title bid: "You would think they would go for hard tires (because longer stint).....but Ferrari strategy always amazes me," read the reply.
@Street1Racing added: "Guys out here living his best life." Meanwhile, some F1 fans expressed envy, with @FrenkHU writing: "Ahww that sound, very rich people play big like this."
Back in F1, the Scuderia will hope to get their campaign back on track when the current break in the schedule finishes. Drivers and teams will return to action in Belgium on the weekend of August 26-28.
