Thieves Gassed Jenson Button's Holiday Villa, Then Made Off With £300k Worth Of Jewellery

F1 drivers want to kick back, relax and unwind over the sport’s summer break, but Jenson Button was left “unharmed but shaken” after he was robbed while on holiday in Southern France.

The McLaren racer was staying at a villa in Saint-Tropez with his wife Jessica Michibata and three friends when thieves broke into the property on Monday, stealing possessions reportedly worth £300,000.

One of the items taken was Michibata’s engagement ring. A spokesman for Button said anaesthetic gas may have been pumped through the villa’s air conditioning system before the robbers entered the house.

The group apparently left Saint-Tropez the following morning. Button’s spokesman said in a statement:

“Two men broke into the property whilst they all slept and stole a number of items of jewellery including, most upsettingly, Jessica’s engagement ring. The police have indicated that this has become a growing problem in the region with perpetrators going so far as to gas their proposed victims through the air conditioning units before breaking in. Whilst unharmed, everyone involved is unsurprisingly shaken by the events."