F1 driver Carlos Sainz catches thieves who attempted to steal his $500,000 watch

Formula One driver Carlos Sainz Jr has thwarted an attempted mugging following the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Ferrari driver took pole position during qualifying and finished the drama-filled race in third position behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

In the evening after the race Sainz was reportedly the victim of a brazen theft on the street outside his hotel, with the perpetrators taking off with his Richard Mille RM 67 watch – worth more than $AU500,000 on the second-hand market.

According to Italian media, as reported by news outlet Reuters, Sainz and an associate chased the thieves on foot and detained the suspects – helped by passers-by – until police arrived.

The Spaniard took to social media to thank police and the public for their help during the "unfortunate incident".

"The most important thing is that we are all OK and this will only remain as an unpleasant anecdote," he wrote.

"Many thanks to all the people who helped us yesterday, to the Milan police for their quick intervention and thanks for all your messages."

The incident follows a similar attempted theft from Sainz's teammate Charles Leclerc in April 2022, who also had his Richard Mille RM 67 watch taken.

VIDEO: F1 driver Charles Leclerc chases watch thieves in his custom Ferrari

Leclerc pursued the perpetrators in his Ferrari 488 Pista Spider road car, however they escaped on a scooter thanks to blocking manoeuvres from an SUV – with the occupants of the SUV arrested by Italian police.

According to The Watch Registry – a UK-based website dedicated to tracking lost and stolen timepieces – more than 80,000 watches have been reported globally as missing, totalling almost $AU2 billion.

The website reports more than 6800 watches were added to its database in 2022 – a 60 per cent increase over the year prior.