Jacques Villeneuve calls thieves of late father’s bronze monument ‘soulless beings’

The younger Villeneuve, also a celebrated F1 driver, posted a video to social media on the weekend saying he has had trouble sleeping since learning of the theft.

Jacques Villeneuve, the son of late Canadian Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve, is lashing out at thieves who stole a bronze statue of his father from outside a Quebec museum in his honour, calling them “idiots.”

The younger Villeneuve, 53, also a celebrated F1 driver, posted a video to social media on the weekend saying he has had trouble sleeping since learning of the theft. In an accompanying message he describes the culprits as “shameless, soulless beings” who “do not deserve to be called humans.”

The five-foot-three-inch bronze statue was stolen sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday morning from a podium in front of the Gilles Villeneuve Museum in Berthierville, Que., about 70 kilometres northeast of Montreal.

A $12,000 reward has been offered for the return of the statue, which can be dropped off at a number of locations in the Berthierville area with no questions asked.

Quebec provincial police said Monday they continue to investigate the theft.

Sgt. Éloïse Cossette said officers verified some tips over the weekend but have not found the missing statue, or made any arrests.

Authorities have been desperately trying to find the bronze statue, created in 1984 as a tribute to Gilles Villeneuve and displayed in front of the museum since 1994 in the town where he grow up. Locals fear it will be melted down and sold for cash.

The museum showcases trophies, racing gear and other items that belonged to Villeneuve, and attracts about 5,000 visitors per year. It’s located on the street also named for the famed driver, but all that’s left of the statue is a pair of bronze boots sawed at the ankles.