Was he himself a victim?
Police have arrested ex-F1 driver
Updated on January 6, 2026 – 9:30 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
Adrian Sutil’s time in Formula 1 dates back over ten years. The former driver is now in custody.
The police have arrested the former Formula 1 driver Adrian Sutil. The arrest is said to have taken place last Thursday in Sindelfingen in Baden-Württemberg. The Stuttgart public prosecutor’s office confirmed this to SWR. The former driver of the premier class of motorsport is currently in custody in the Stuttgart-Stammheim correctional facility. According to the “Bild” newspaper, the reason for this is allegations of fraud.
What is it about? A spokesman for the Stuttgart public prosecutor’s office told SWR that Sutil was suspected of joint fraud in a particularly serious case and joint embezzlement. According to “Bild”, he acted as a luxury car dealer and used vehicles as security for loans on several occasions. Sutil rejects these allegations. During a raid, investigators confiscated around 20 Sutil cars, according to “Bild”. However, nine are said to have remained in his garage in Monaco.
The former F1 driver sees himself as a victim. As SWR reports, Sutil suspects, according to his lawyer, that his reputation is being deliberately damaged. “Bild” also writes that blackmail is said to have occurred some time after the ex-F1 star was arrested. This is what Sutil’s family and lawyer said.
Lawyer Dirk Schmitz told the newspaper: “A caller introduced himself on the phone as ‘Vladimir’ and claimed that he was Russian and belonged to the Wagner Group – with the threatening message that no one would stop him in Monaco if his troops ‘got’ the vehicles.” According to “Bild”, it is not clear whether it is actually a member of the mercenary group. The police must now check this.
The newspaper reports that several men appeared at Sutil and removed several luxury cars under pressure. This is said to have been accompanied by “massive intimidation and even death threats”. Sutil’s lawyer told “Bild”: “The clear message from the perpetrators was: ‘Cars out – or something fatal will happen’.”
Out of fear, Sutil only filed a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office later, on New Year’s Eve. LKA spokeswoman Lisa Schröder told the newspaper: “We can confirm that we have received a criminal complaint due to the unclear whereabouts of several other vehicles.” According to his lawyer, Sutil wants to fully cooperate with the investigating authorities.
Sutil drove in Formula 1 from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2013 to 2014. First for Force India, later for Sauber. He completed a total of 128 races.