Sebastian Vettel has detailed the ordeal of trying to chase down the thief who stole his bag after the Spanish Grand Prix.
The four-time Formula One world champion had left his backpack in his car while checking out of the hotel and emerged from reception to discover it was gone - yet he did have one method of catching the assailant.
“I was checking out in the morning from the hotel, and I had my bag in the car,” he told Friday’s press conference.
“When I quickly went back in and came back out the bag was gone. So, after a while, I realised I had my headphones in the bag, and I could locate them [on my phone].
“I found the headphones but did not find the bag, so it was not really a chase, but obviously I was a bit disappointed to lose the bag. Once I found [the headphones], they were in a flowerpot, so I guess the person who stole it knew you can be tracked.”
Vettel, 34, remarked that the thief would have been disappointed with his haul from the backpack, which predominantly contained the Aston Martin racer’s insurance cards and medical supplies.
“I wanted my bag, so that was all that was in my mind,” he continued ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix. “There weren’t many valuables. I wasn’t sure if my passport was in there or not, but as it would happen it was in another bag, so I was lucky.
“But I had ID and insurance cards, driver’s licence and that just boring stuff that takes time to get back, and you have to apply and fill out the forms. I wasn’t looking forward to that.
“Unfortunately, there was no money in there. I had some bandages in there for the knee, so I guess whoever picked the backpack, it wasn’t a great deal because the only thing that was valuable was the headphones which they had to lose not to be found.
“I really liked the backpack though. I was just going there to see if I could spot somebody and nick it back and jump back on the scooter... but nobody was there.”
