Jacques Villeneuve has slammed “heartless” thieves after a statue of his father – former F1 racer Gilles Villeneuve – was stolen in Canada.
The bronze monument of ex-Ferrari driver Gilles, who died in 1982, was situated outside his museum – the Musee Gilles Villeneuves – in Berthierville, Quebec.
But his son, 1997 F1 world champion Jacques, announced on Instagram that the statue is now missing and condemned those responsible. A reward of £6,700 ($12,000) is being offered to anyone who finds the statue and returns it.
Villeneuve 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."
Villeneuve captioned the video: "My dad’s bronze monument was stolen at the museum. Those shameless, soulless beings do not deserve to be called humans."
The statue is around 1.6 metres tall but photos from the museum’s Facebook page show that the statue has been cut at the ankles. It is not currently clear when the statue was stolen.
Jacques spoke to The Independent last month about his relationship with his father. Jacques was 11 when Gilles passed away following a crash in Zolder, Belgium, in 1982.
“It was hard to lose a father,” he said. “But the weirdest thing was how many people lost him... that was odd.
“Even today, when people talk to me about my Dad, they say ‘we were so sad when Gilles died’, but they didn’t even know him. So as his son, that was awkward and really strange.
“I then grew up being known but without having achieved anything myself. It put me on the back foot and made me shy. Why was I there? I felt like a fraud until I started racing myself.”
While Gilles claimed six F1 wins but failed to win a championship, Jacques won the 1997 title with Williams after Michael Schumacher was disqualified from the championship standings following an illegal manoeuvre in the final race of the season.
Villeneuve has worked as a pundit for Sky Sports F1 on two occasions this season, in Canada and Azerbaijan.
