Some of Red Bull’s stolen trophies are found dumped in a Berkshire lake
Some of the trophies stolen from Formula One team Red Bull’s factory have been found dumped in a lake.
More than 60 were stolen when a gang of six men used a vehicle to ram the front entrance of the team’s building in Milton Keynes at around 1.30am on 6 December.
Thames Valley police said that around 20 of the trophies were recovered from Horseshoe lake near Sandhurst in Berkshire on Monday after being spotted by a member of the public.
Detective constable Chris Oakman said: “We estimate about 20 trophies have been recovered but we are liaising with Red Bull to establish the exact number as some of the trophies are damaged.”
Red Bull’s team principal Christian Horner said following the burglary that staff were “absolutely devastated” by the break-in and the theft of the trophies, which had taken “years and hard work to accumulate”.
The Austrian team won the F1 constructors’ championship and drivers’ championship from 2010-2013.
Horner also warned the team would have to limit accessibility to the site in future, accepting the move would disappoint fans.
He added in a statement at the time: “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 also 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, 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.”