Police are investigating after Force India had one of its steering wheels stolen during the Italian Grand Prix weekend.

The team confirmed a steering wheel was reported missing ahead of Sunday’s race at Monza, with it believed to have been taken on Saturday night following qualifying at the Italian circuit. The wheel in question was a spare for Sergio Perez’s car, and local police are investigating how it came to be taken.

F1 steering wheels are worth tens of thousands of pounds, being a labour-intensive item to produce with expensive materials and technology. The theft is the second to hit an F1 team within the past 12 months, with Red Bull having more than 60 trophies stolen from its Milton Keynes factory in December last year.

Force India was celebrating a strong result at Monza, with Sergio Perez finishing sixth and Nico Hulkenberg seventh as the team regained fifth place in the constructors’ championship from Lotus.

Click here for F1i's driver ratings from the Italian Grand Prix

2016 F1 driver line-ups so far

F1 drivers' girlfriends gallery

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

Mekies: ‘We all agree’ F1 must bring back flat-out qualifying

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has made it clear: Formula 1 must rediscover the…

12 hours ago

‘Rusty, me?’: Perez fires back at Andretti’s Cadillac claim

Sergio Perez isn’t taking lightly the suggestion that his return to Formula 1 with Cadillac…

14 hours ago

Formula 1’s heartfelt gift to new dad Fernando Alonso

While Aston Martin’s F1 car is currently giving Fernando Alonso some massive engine vibrations and…

15 hours ago

Hill says unhappy Verstappen ‘should stop and do something else’

For a driver who has spent years bending F1 to his will, Max Verstappen suddenly…

16 hours ago

‘He’s up against it’: Brundle fears Sainz facing career dead end in F1

For Carlos Sainz, what was meant to be a strong second season at Williams is…

18 hours ago

Alonso’s brutal verdict: ‘High-speed corners now charging stations’

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso has delivered another withering verdict on Formula 1’s 2026 regulations…

19 hours ago