Plot to steal Enzo Ferrari's body foiled

Italian police say they have foiled a plot to steal the body of the legendary motoring figure Enzo Ferrari and demand a ransom.

Investigators in Sardinia arrested 34 people "as part of a massive operation involving helicopters and parachute regiment officers", The Independent says.

It adds that police suspected "a gang had planned to demand a ransom from the Ferrari family or company after spiriting away the body".

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They "had reportedly carried out surveillance of the tomb", says Sky News, and "also arranged for someone to keep the body and get in touch with the Ferrari family".

Motorsport.com says the gang, which had connections to drug and smuggling activity, had planned on using "two cars and a van" to take the body to a hideout in the Apennine mountains.

Ferrari, the car manufacturer and founder of the Formula 1 racing team, died in 1988 at the age of 90. Motorsport says he is buried at the San Cataldo cemetery, a short distance from the Ferrari factory and test track in Fiorano.

Meanwhile, Ferrari scored its first F1 victory in nearly two years during last weekend's Australian Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel took a dominant victory over Mercedes-AMG driver Lewis Hamilton, with the Brit losing his early lead after the first round of pit stops.