Four-time F1 world champion Vettel had his bag stolen through a car window, according to major Catalan publication El Periodico, from outside his hotel following Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix.
But in an effort to try and track down his stolen bag using his scooter, Vettel used a GPS signal from the AirPods headphones that were in the bag using the Find my iPhone app to find out where they were.
El Periodico reported that Vettel went after the signal by riding a scooter through the city, and was successful in reaching the trace.
Although Vettel was able to find his headphones at the point on the map that had appeared on his iPhone, the bag and the other items that had been found inside it were nowhere to be seen, with the headphones likely to have been discarded by the thieves to throw him off the scent.
A spokesperson from Aston Martin confirmed to Autosport on Monday afternoon that Vettel had been victim of the bag theft.
“A bag belonging to Sebastian Vettel was stolen in Barcelona this morning,” the team confirmed.
“He tried to find it by using his iPhone to track his earphones which were in his bag; but when he located his earphones he found them abandoned and was therefore unable to locate his stolen bag.”
Vettel reported the incident to the local authorities, who have launched an investigation.