Bernie Ecclestone's mother-in-law has reportedly been freed after she was kidnapped from her home in Brazil last week, with her abductors demanding a record $36.5 million (£28m) ransom.
According to Elisabete Sato of the Sao Paulo police, no ransom was paid and Aparecida Schunck was freed unharmed, whilst two suspects have been arrested.
It comes after the city's police department launched a major operation to free the 67-year-old according to the BBC.
The report claims police tracked Mrs Schunck to a farmhouse near Sao Paulo after "investigators monitored phone calls between kidnappers and her family".
![Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri [McLaren] celebrate their 1-2 finish at the 2025 F1 Austrian GP](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Lando-Norris-Oscar-Piastri-McLaren-F1-2025-1-120x86.webp)
Ecclestone, who had been seen at both the Hungarian and German Grands Prix this and last weekend, had been told by police to stay away from Brazil as his presence in the country could have proven "counterproductive" to the investigation.
The 85-year-old had offered police the services of a private security company to deal with the kidnappers.
![Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri [McLaren] celebrate their 1-2 finish at the 2025 F1 Austrian GP](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Lando-Norris-Oscar-Piastri-McLaren-F1-2025-1-350x250.webp)
