'Phantom' F1 Driver Finally Identified After Six-Year Mystery as Arrest Made
A 51-year-old has been arrested.
The driver of a 'phantom' formula car has finally been arrested by police in the Czech Republic after six years on the road.
Footage of car, which is decked out in an old-school Ferrari livery, has appeared multiple times on social media since it was first spotted back in 2019.
Despite its paint job and likeness to an official Formula 1 car, it is suspected to be a Dallara GP2/08.
The car would likely been intended to be used in the GP2 Series, an open-wheel championship introduced in 2005 which is now known as Formula 2.
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On Sunday, a 51-year-old man was taken into custody after officers raided his home in the village of Buk, southwest of Prague, after reports of the GP2 car stopping for petrol.
Following the arrest Czech police released the following statement.
"Thanks to information from drivers, this morning we stopped a Formula driver in the village of Buk who was speeding along the D4 highway," they wrote on X.
“The driver of the car, who was stopped and identified by police in the vehicle, 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," it concluded.
The man arrested is said to run a YouTube channel called TrackZone alongside his son, which often posts videos of the Formula car that rack up millions of views.
Speaking following the arrest, the driver’s son, Lukas, expressed his disapproval of how the police handled the situation.
"They entered our private land and violated our rights in my opinion, it was completely unnecessary and illegal," he told reporters via The Daily Mail.
He denied any connection to the car that was spotted speeding.
"The events have always gone without any problems. Everyone knows very well that formula has been running on the highway in the Czech Republic since 2019 and people will have to get used to it," he told Czech outlet Idnes.cz.
Why are Formula cars not road legal?
Formula cars are not legal to drive on public roads due to the lack of licence plates, lights, indicators and other safety equipment.
A fine or driving suspension is the likely punishment for anyone caught using such a vehicle on public roads.
Topics: Czech Republic, Formula 1
Tom Jenkins