For nearly six years, he was a motorway myth — a mysterious figure in full racing gear, blazing down Czech highways in what looked like a Formula 1 car. The Phantom Ferrari driver had become a ghost that authorities just couldn’t catch. That all changed this past Sunday, when police finally cornered the speed demon, and the story of the pseudo-F1 driver arrested is just as strange as the legend itself.

The end of the six-year chase began when police spotted the now-infamous race car on the D4 motorway. They followed it from a gas station to a property in the village of Bulk, where they arrested a 51-year-old man. While people have often called the car a Ferrari, it is technically an Italian-made Dallara GP2/08, a purpose-built open-wheel race car from the feeder series to Formula 1. Footage from the scene showed the driver, still in his helmet and racing suit, arguing with officers that they were trespassing before the officers took him into custody.

This wasn’t the police’s first encounter with the vehicle. They had previously tracked it down in 2019, but the owner denied driving it on public roads, and authorities could never positively identify the driver because of the helmet. The driver’s son reportedly blasted the recent police response — which allegedly included dozens of cars and a helicopter — as disproportionate for a traffic violation. At the station, the suspect refused to comment on the situation. The family drama adds another layer to the story of the supposed F1 driver arrested.

After years of high-speed antics and evading identification, the phantom’s run appears to be over. He now faces a relatively small fine of a few thousand crowns and, more significantly, a driving ban. The final capture of the mystery F1 driver arrested marks the end of a bizarre chapter in Czech motoring history, proving that even the most elusive ghosts of the motorway eventually have to face the law.