F1: Carlos Sainz releases statement after chasing down thieves who stole his £500k watch after Monza GP

Carlos Sainz has released a statement after chasing down thieves who stole his £500,000 watch. Just hours after celebrating his third place podium win at Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix, the Ferrari driver was involved in a robbery incident.

Sainz, still in his team uniform, was targeted near the Armani Hotel in Milan at around 8.30pm on Sunday evening, according to reports by the Italian press. The driver, 29, was surrounded by members of his team and the public as he chased thieves to successfully recover his Richard Mille watch.

Several videos have been circling online showing local police arresting two suspects whilst the Ferrari team watched on. The incident happened after a positive weekend for the Ferrari driver after he secured pole during qualifying before taking a podium position for the first time this season.

Sainz finished Sunday’s race in third place, after losing his pole position to Max Verstappen on lap 14. Max Verstappen claimed a record breaking 10th consecutive win at Monza, beating the record set by retired driver Sebastian Vettel.

The Ferrari driver, who turned 29 on Friday, released a statement on X, formerly Twitter where he said: “As many of you already know, yesterday we experienced an unfortunate incident in Milano. The most important thing is that we are all OK and this will only remain as an unpleasant anecdote. Many thanks to all the people who helped us yesterday, to the Milan police for their quick intervention and thanks for all your messages.”

It’s not the first time a Formula 1 driver has been targeted by thieves, with Sainz’s teammate Charles Leclerc also having a Richard Mille watch stolen in Viareggio last year. Leclerc followed thieves in his car, whilst abiding to road laws and was able to successfully retrieve the watch.

Lando Norris has also been a target to thieves, having his £144,000 watch stolen from him outside Wembley following the Euro final between Italy and England in 2021. The McLaren was also robbed in Marbella earlier this year, whilst he was with his friends.