AUGUST 6, 2002

The snapper-bopping season is upon us

Things are very quiet at the moment in Formula 1 circles and so much has been made of two incidents in recent days in which leading players in motor racing have attacked photographers. Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo allegedly walloped an Italian photographer at the Massa Cinquale airport, near La Spezia in Tuscany, after he took pictures of Montezemolo and his family as they arrived for a holiday. A second photographer is understood to have taken pictures of the event. The photographer is expected to take legal action against Montezemolo.

Over in America NASCAR star Tony Stewart blotted his copybook by apparently punching a photographer at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after a frustrating time during the Brickyard 400 event.