Italian police arrest four in connection with Leclerc's stolen watch

Italian authorities have tracked down and arrested four individuals suspected to be involved in the theft of Charles Leclerc's watch a year ago in Tuscany.

Leclerc was the victim of a sleight-of-hand thief while out and about in Viareggio, the home town of his trainer Andrea Ferrari, with the robber snatching the Scuderia driver's custom $320,000 Richard Mille luxury watch.

Leclerc was recognized and approached by a group of fans for autographs and selfies, but only realized that his watch had been stollen after the commotion subsided.

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A year on from the petty crime, four people have been arrested in connection with the theft, according to Reuters.

While conducting a search at the home of one of the suspects, the Italian police found "valuable watches, the provenance of which will be investigated further,"

However, Reuters added that "an investigative source said it was not yet possible to say if either of the watches found were the one stolen from Leclerc".

Luxury watchmaker Richard Mille is a longstanding sponsor in F1, supporting Ferrari but also McLaren and Haas in the past.

Leclerc isn't the first F1 driver to have his priceless RM timepiece stolen, with Lando Norris forced to hand over his own $50,000 Richard Mille watch to a mugger outside of Wembley Stadium after the Euro 2020 final.

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