Outgoing world champions Red Bull Racing suffered a loss that is virtually irreplaceable, as all trophies that take pride of place at the team’s base in Milton Keynes were stolen from the towering glass case. 

This includes the Constructors’ Championship trophies that they claimed over the past four years, before Mercedes AMG Petronas took first blood in the new hybrid era of Formula One.

The official statement from Thames Valley Police regarding the incident reads as follows, as of 11.30am today:

“Police were called at 1.30am today (6/12) to the Red Bull Racing factory where a group of around six men, used a vehicle to drive through the front entrance to gain access to the premises.

“Once inside, they stole over 60 trophies belonging to the Red Bull Racing team.

“Night staff who were on the premises at the time were not physically harmed.

“Two cars were involved in the burglary. A silver 4×4 which was used to drive through the entrance and a further dark coloured, black or dark blue Mercedes estate car. Both are believed to have foreign number plates.

“There is no description of the offenders available at this time, although they are all believed to be men, wearing dark clothing.

“If you have any information that may assist the investigation, please contact Milton Keynes Force CID on the Thames Valley Police non-emergency enquiry centre number 101.  If calling from overseas, please dial 0044 1865 841148 to contact Thames Valley Police from outside of the United Kingdom.”

With Sebastian Vettel now at Ferrari, following on from his final visit to the team’s headquarters on Thursday, the robbery comes as a major shock to all those that work for Red Bull Racing.

Team Prinicipal Christian Horner has also released an official statement regarding the incident as well, via the team’s official website:

“We are obviously devastated by this serious factory break in, which saw offenders drive a vehicle through our front entrance and steal more than 60 trophies which took years and hard work to accumulate.

“The break-in caused significant damage and was very upsetting for our night officers who were on duty at the time. The offenders took items that not only did not belong to them, but which represented the efforts of a group of dedicated, hard-working individuals.

“Beyond the aggressive nature of this break-in, we are perplexed why anyone would take these trophies. The value to the team is of course extraordinarily high due to the sheer hard work and effort that went into winning each and every one. But their intrinsic value is low; they would be of little benefit to those outside of the team and, in addition to that, many of the trophies on display were replicas.

“The actions of these men mean it’s likely that we will have to make our site less accessible in the future, which will be unfair on the hundreds of fans that travel to visit our factory each year to see our trophies and our Formula One car.”