Upset and anger for Villeneuve family as statue of F1 winner is STOLEN
F1 News
- Corwin Kunst
A statue dedicated to Gilles Villeneuve has been stolen in Canada. The son of Gilles, Jacques Villeneuve, has spoken out on social media and labelled the thieves as "soulless beings".
On the night of 30-31 October, the thieves appeared at the entrance of a museum dedicated to the former Ferrari driver. According to a police reconstruction, the thieves sawed off the 160 cm-high bronze statue and then transported it in a truck. Only the driving boots remain in place.
A reward of 12,000 euros is being offered to recover the statue. There is currently no trace of the thieves. The fear is that the artwork has been melted down into bars.
Jacques Villeneuve reacts to his dad's statue which has been stolen
"My dad's bronze monument was stolen at the museum. Those shameless, soulless beings do not deserve to be called humans," he said on Instagram.
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Who is Gilles Villeneuve?
Gilles Villeneuve was born in 1950 and made his Formula 1 debut in 1977. He completed one race for McLaren before moving across to Ferrari. His first race win came at his home race in 1978 in Canada. His best season came in 1979 when he finished second in the Formula 1 World Championship. He was just four points shy of his teammate Jody Scheckter's tally.
In his six seasons, he won six Grands Prix, secured 2 pole positions and stood on the podium 13 times. Villeneuve died during the final qualifying session for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder. The Canadian Grand Prix circuit in Montreal is named after him. His son, Jacques Villeneuve, followed his footsteps into Formula 1 and won the World Championship in 1997.
This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton