F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve pleads with "heartless" thieves after statue of father Gilles was stolen

Jacques Villeneuve, who won the F1 world championship in 1997, has called out the “heartless” thieves who stole a statue of his father, Gilles, from his museum, the Musee Gilles Villeneuves, in Quebec, Canada.

Gilles, who raced for the likes of McLaren and Ferrari in his six-season career, won six grand prix before a fatal accident during qualifying for the 1982 Belgian GP at Zolder. His son Jaques was born in 1971, and as the lead Williams driver beat Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher to take the crown in just his second F1 season.

The bronze statue of the Canadian racer had been outside the museum, but Jacques confirmed it has been stolen. Thieves cut at the statue’s ankles to remove it, leaving behind nothing more than shoes on a plinth.

Taking to social media, the F1 champion, who also occasionally appears as a pundit on Sky Sports’ coverage of races, said: “I cannot sleep. How can people be so heartless? Gilles represented Canada and Quebec on the international stage. There are not many like him.

“To steal a monument like this, it is disgraceful. I do not understand what goes through people's minds or hearts, if they even have one. This act shows they have neither heart nor brain.”

In the post’s caption he added: “My dad's bronze monument was stolen at the museum. Those shameless, soulless beings do not deserve to be called humans.”

Jacques, who raced for BAR, Renault and Sauber after leaving Williams at the end of 1998, has also offered a reward of £6,700.