F1 world champion makes desperate plea as thieves steal statue of dad

An audacious heist has stripped the Musee Gilles Villeneuves in Berthierville, Quebec, of a treasured bronze statue depicting famed Formula 1 racer, Gilles Villeneuve. The monument, which stood proudly at the museum dedicated to the local hero's legacy, was confirmed missing by his son, fellow F1 icon Jacques Villeneuve.

Devastated by the theft, Jacques expressed his disbelief and outrage on Instagram: "I cannot sleep. How can people be so heartless? Gilles represented Canada and Quebec on the international stage. There are not many like him."

He chastised the culprits further, stating: "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 video 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."

Although the exact timing of the theft is unclear, the museum's Facebook page alerted followers on October 31. The posts also revealed that a substantial reward of £6,700 is on offer for the return of the sculpture, with assurances that no questions will be asked of those who help recover it, reports .

The bronze statue of the former F1 racer used to stand at around 1.6 metres tall. However, images posted on the museum's Facebook page show that the thieves appear to have been cut at the ankles, leaving only the shoes standing on the heavy plinth.

Gilles Villeneuve raced in F1 67 times, winning on six occasions, and was the runner-up in the 1979 drivers' championship. His first experience of racing an F1 car came with McLaren but he spent the whole of his all-too-brief world championship career representing Ferrari.

He was popular with fans during his racing days and became one of the sport's most iconic figures following his death in 1982. During qualifying at the Zolder circuit in Belgium, he crashed with the March being driven by Jochen Mass at around 120-140mph and was thrown into the catch fencing at the side of the track when his car broke apart.

He later died in hospital, having suffered a broken neck among other injuries, and the Montreal circuit which hosts the Canadian Grand Prix annually is named after him. His son Jacques was just 11 at the time of his father's death which, for a time, discouraged him from following him into the dangerous world of motorsport.

But two years later he wanted to get back into racing and, not only did he reach F1, but went on to race 163 times in the sport and won the 1997 title.