F1 ACE Lando Norris was robbed of his “unique” £144,000 designer watch in Wembley Stadium’s VIP car park, a court heard yesterday.
The McLaren driver, 23, was targeted for his Richard Mille timepiece – one of only five in the world – as he walked to his £165,000 McLaren GT after the Euro 2020 final.
The Richard Mille “prototype limited edition McLaren watch”, also known as the RM6702, was the only one in the world with a blue strap made to measure for the driver’s wrist.
Despite never being made available for sale, the designer estimates the value to be around £144,000 – excluding VAT.
Liam Williams, 25, from Merseyside has denied robbing the Belgian-British F1 star on July 11, 2021.
He appeared at court today wearing a navy-blue t-shirt and grey ripped jeans.
The robbery came after England’s defeat to Italy on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Tyrone Silcott, prosecuting, said the attack happened in the VIP yellow car park at Wembley Stadium following the final.
Mr Norris told Harrow Crown Court it was midnight and raining as he spoke to members of the public next to his McLaren.
He then realised two suspects were circling the car.
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He added: “I noticed the suspect looking around my car and myself while keeping his head down. I believe his right hand was near, or on, his pocket.”
The first suspect “slowly approached”, he added.
“When I turned towards him, he asked me ‘is this your car?’ I do not recall exactly what happened.
“Suspect 1 then went behind me and put his right arm around my neck and his left arm was under my back.
“Suspect 1 pushed me into him and pulled me back by my neck.”
Lando was left looking up at the sky as the first man told the second to “grab the watch”.
He added: “Suspect 2 struggled to get the watch for a while however they used force to pull the watch off leaving scratches on my arm.
“When suspect 1 had his arm around my neck the suspect manages to get the watch off my left wrist.”
After just 30 seconds the attackers ran away via a nearby pedestrian walkway.
Cops took two swabs from the F1 driver, two from his neck and two from his left wrist, where the watch was stolen.
The prosecutor said the tests suggested a match with Williams’ DNA.
And Williams’ phone records show he travelled to Wembley from Liverpool on the day of the theft.
His phone was logged near Wembley Stadium in the early hours of July 12, 2021 before travelling back to Liverpool on July 13, 2021.
Williams was arrested in Liverpool on July 18, 2021 on suspicion of robbery and attended a voluntary interview that day, where he answered no comment to all questions.
He was interviewed again on July 19 and answered no comment again to all questions.
On that same day a “video identification” took place, however Mr Norris was unable to identify him as one of the robbers, jurors heard.
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He then attended a third interview on December 12, 2021 where he again answered no comment to all questions.
The trial continues.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
