Constructors' and Drivers' Championship trophies were not stolen in raid

Thieves will be unable to sell them on or melt them down to sell as scrap

Brazilian trophy which may have been stolen was made of recycled plastic

But many of the missing trophies were replicas and are of no value

Ram raiders stole all of the Red Bull Formula One team's trophies in a twilight raid on their Milton Keynes factory, but many of them are thought to be worthless replicas.

Six men used a 4x4 and a Mercedes to drive through the building's main entrance, stealing more than 60 trophies, but a source close to the team revealed that many of them were made of plastic and of no value.

This means that the thieves, who will not be able to sell the trophies, will also be unable to melt them down to flog off as scrap metal.

One of the trophies that may have been stolen, a second place trophy Mark Webber won at the Brazilian Grand Prix, was made of recycled plastic.

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Sebastian Vettel stands in front of the Red Bull trophy cabinet at their factory in Milton Keynes. All of the awards were stolen in a ram raid on Friday, but many of them are thought to be worthless replicas

A picture taken at the scene shows the damage left by a 4x4 which smashed through the entrance of the factory

Red Bull won the Constructors' Championships from 2010 to 2013, while Sebastian Vettel won the drivers' championship for each of the four years.

However the ram raiders, who used vehicles with foreign number plates, failed to get away with these prestigious trophies too as they had been passed on to this season's title winners Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton.

Despite many of the trophies being of little material value, team principal Christian Horner said staff were 'absolutely devastated' by the break-in on Friday night, which had taken 'years of hard work to accumulate'.

He said: '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.'

Six men used a 4x4 and a Mercedes, both with foreign number plates, to drive through the front entrance of the building

Vettel and former team mate Mark Webber won a combined 43 races while they were at Red Bull from 2010-2013, with Daniel Ricciardo adding three more wins to the team's total this season

The team won 43 races over the four-year period, receiving a trophy for each victory, as well as four constructors' trophies.

Former Red Bull drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber also won separate trophies for finishing on the podium, as well as Vettel's four championships, but it not known whether they were kept in the Milton Keynes factory or if replicas were kept instead.

Daniel Ricciardo also won three races for Red Bull this season.

Horner added: '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.

'We would like to appeal to anyone who knows any information on the whereabouts of these trophies or the offenders involved to contact Thames Valley Police.'

The Austrian team won the Constructors' Championships from 2010 to 2013, while Sebastian Vettel won the drivers' championship for each of the four years

The team won 43 races over the four-year period, receiving a trophy for each victory, as well as the four constructors' trophies

Vettel (pictured on podium) won the 2013 Drivers' Championship after taking victory in the Indian Grand Prix

Police said they were called at 1.30am this morning following the robbery and that staff were not harmed.

A Thames Valley police spokesman said: 'Two cars were involved. A silver 4x4 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.'