Classic F1 steering wheel stolen during spate of damage at British Grand Prix
The wheel was stolen at about 2.30pm on Friday while team members were eating lunch.
Another of the team's classic F1 racers on display was used 'like a climbing frame' by visitors, while a separate car sustained thousands of pounds worth of damage when someone tried to climb inside, police said.
Race engineer Russell Sheppard said the 1990 Leyton House CG901 was due out on track after the theft, and was only able to make it when a replacement wheel was found at the last minute.
Northamptonshire Police has released a CCTV image of a man they want to speak to following the theft.
Mr Sheppard, who works for Martin Stretton Racing, said the wheel was irreplaceable.
He told the PA news agency: 'We'd just left the car for lunch, we came back and went to do some work on the car, and it's like, 'where's the steering wheel?'
'It's very sad, because it's an original piece of the car, original piece of history for it.
'It would be nice to reunite it all together.'
The Leyton House was designed by F1 design guru Adrian Newey for the 1990 Formula One World Championship.
It was due to be driven at Silverstone by Ivan Capelli, who used it during the 1990 World Championship.
Speaking about the stolen wheel, Mr Sheppard said: 'It's bespoke to the car, because the 1990s cars, the cockpits are so small you have to have a small wheel with a very small grip on it.
'I've been speaking to the people who made it in Italy originally, and sadly, they don't produce them anymore.
'We've got to go down the road of getting one bespoke made.
'It's just the hassle, it's the cost, it's an unnecessary procedure you have to go through which we shouldn't have to be doing.'
Mr Sheppard said visitors had also climbed over a second historic F1 car on display.
'We had a Forti, another 1996 Formula One car on one of the other stands, and people were just using it like a climbing frame,' he said.
'We haven't seen any damage on that yet. We're just about going through it today.
'We're here to show off history and keep things moving and alive.
'People doing things like this, sadly, it puts a sour taste in your mouth.
'Hopefully next time, security will be even more.
'Sadly, the security guards aren't security people. They're just people that stand there.
'They're not being informed of what to do and how to do it.'
Around 500,000 people visited the circuit over the weekend which saw Lando Norris win the British Grand Prix for the first time in his career.
A total of 34 crimes were reported during the event, including theft, criminal damage, assault and drugs possession, with 20 arrests made, police said.
A separate classic Formula One car on display at Silverstone sustained 'several thousands of pounds worth of damage', police said.
It was alleged to have been caused by someone 'accessing the display stand and climbing into the vehicle'.
Three men, aged 23, 25 and 27, were arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage but were released with no further action.
Despite his sadness at the loss of the wheel, the engineer said the social media response to the theft had been 'amazing'.
'I'm not into social media that much, but the power of social media has been fantastic for this, everybody is sharing it around,' he said.
'It's amazing how many people have contacted us.'
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