Italian police are investigating the theft of a steering wheel from the Force India garages at Monza before last Sunday's Italian Grand Prix, the Formula One team said on Tuesday.

A spokesman said the wheel was a spare for Mexican Sergio Perez's car and appeared to have been taken on Saturday night after qualifying for the race at the high-speed circuit near Milan.

The British-based team did not give a value for the missing item.

Perez finished sixth in the race, with German team mate Nico Hulkenberg seventh.