Carlos Sainz was robbed outside of a Milan hotel after his Italian GP podium heroics at Monza with three men attempting to steal a watch with a six-figure price tag.
The Ferrari driver, who claimed third for Ferrari in front of the adoring Tifosi at Monza, had his day blighted when exiting the Armani Hotel.
The three men implicated in the incident, alleged to be aged between 18 and 20, snatched the Spaniard’s Alexander Zverev Richard Mille watch.
Fortunately, Sainz and a number of his personnel were able to retrieve the valuable item, deemed to be worth in the region of £235,000, and the robbers were handed over to the police.
After Sainz, his personnel trainer, manager and other personnel gave chase by car and on foot, all three of the robbers were caught and the watch was recovered.
Occurring only hours after the Italian GP, the dramatic and no-doubt frightening incident is the last thing the Spaniard would have wanted after what was otherwise a successful day.
In response to the incident, Sainz took to social media, to alleviate the concerns of his many followers.
“As many of you already know, yesterday we experienced an unfortunate incident in Milano,” Sainz wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“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.”
With the situation put to bed, Sainz can look forward to the next round of the Formula 1 World Championship, with the Asian flyaway races beginning with the Singapore Grand Prix on the weekend of 15-17 September.
Sainz currently sits fifth in the Drivers’ Championship with 117 points, one place and six points ahead of team-mate Leclerc.
