Police have finally arrested a man regularly seen driving a Formula 1-type racing car on the motorway over the past six years.
The driver,decked out in full racing gear,had been spotted in the distinctive red vehicle numerous times in the Czech Republic since 2019,but authorities had failed to identify him.
However,on Sunday morning a man was arrested at his home in the village of Buk,37 miles south-west of Prague.
Police had received reports of a racing car seen at petrol station near Dobříš and followed him along the D4 motorway until he reached his property.
Footage,taken by local media,shows him briefly refuse to leave the vehicle as he argues with officers,telling them they’re trespassing on private land.
He was then taken into custody,where he reportedly refused to answer questions.
‘Thanks to information from drivers,this morning we stopped a Formula driver in the village of Buk who was speeding along the D4 highway,’ Czech Police wrote on X.
The racing car is often described as a Ferrari because of the logos on its body,but it is reportedly a a Dallara GP2/08 (Picture: Idnes)
‘The police identified the driver as a 51-year-old man and subsequently took him to the district department to provide an explanation.
‘The driver of the car,who was stopped by police,refused to comment on the situation during questioning.
‘The police will proceed with administrative proceedings,in which he could face a fine of several thousand crowns and a driving ban.’
Formula 1 cars don’t have licence plates,lights,indicators and other safety equipment needed to legally drive on public roads.
The car pictured driving along the motorway (Picture: Idnes)
Footage of the car shared by police (Picture: Police CZ)
The driver’s son,Lukas,said the house had been surrounded by several patrol cars and a helicopter,which he described as a disproportionate response to a ‘supposed traffic violation of ours’.
He said police ‘allegedly saw us towing a Formula 1 car which they claimed had been speeding along the motorway a few minutes earlier – of course we know absolutely nothing about this’.
Images and a video of the car and its driver first appeared online in 2019.
Police managed to track down the car and its owner at the time,but because the driver in the images and video was wearing a helmet they were unable to prove it was the same person.
The car has often been described as a ‘Ferrari Formula 1 car’ due to its livery,but according to the website auto.cz it is actually a Dallara GP2/08 – a racing car developed by the Italian manufacturer Dallara for use in the GP2 Series,a feeder series for Formula One.
The competition has since had its name changed to FIA Formula 2 Championship.