There weren’t many drivers in the Ferrari F1 stable that received praise from the legendary Enzo Ferrari himself. Maybe the only driver that the iconic Italian admired was Canada’s Gilles Villeneuve. Since Villeneuve is one of the greatest drivers to have graced the storied rostrum of F1, any act of vandalism attached to his property is widely condemned.
His son and 1997 F1 world champion, Jacques Villeneuve, recently came onto his Instagram account to share a heinous act perpetrated by a few undisclosed “thieves” who stole his father’s statue from his museum in Canada. Jacques wrote,
“How can people be so heartless? Gilles represented Canada and Quebec on the international stage. There are not many like him. It is outrageous to steal such a monument. I don’t understand what’s going through the heads or hearts of these thieves, if they already have it.”
On aura tout vu…La statue de Gilles Villeneuve volée devant le musée en son honneur. Quelle tristesse…#GillesVilleneuve #volstatue pic.twitter.com/SvAEO58199
— Bertrand Godin (@bertrandgodin77) October 31, 2024
Now, in a bid to retain this invaluable piece of Canadian racing history, the museum along with a notable car dealer have promised to pay 12,000 Canadian Dollars (approx. $8,600) to the person who returns the statue as a reward. The statement put out makes it very clear that they do not care about how and where the person finds the statue.
They only care that “we bring Gilles back to his museum,” as per their post on Facebook. Gilles raced in F1 from 1977 until his eventual death in 1982. His most successful spell in the sport came with Ferrari as before he passed away after an accident at the 1982 Belgian GP, he had amassed six wins and 13 podiums for the legendary Italian outfit.
