A Formula 1 photographer was choked by a Spanish police officer while trying to reach the podium at the Spanish GP, adding another controversy to Madring’s debut on the calendar.
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The images were shared by Spanish journalist Daniel Atán on his social media. In the photo, Peter Fox is put in a chokehold by a police officer while trying to get to the award ceremony at the circuit.
The photographer was trying to reach the podium through a passage designated for professionals but was stopped by security. The confrontation was captured in a brief video shared on social media, showing Fox, wearing the official Williams uniform, being thrown to the ground.
Atán describes the scene as ‘absolutely surreal’ on his X account, saying that Peter was using an authorized media pass to get to the podium when the police officer intervened.
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Jamey Price, also a Formula 1 photographer, defended his colleague on social media. Winner of the Motorsport Photographer of the Year award by the National Motorsport Association, he wrote, “I don’t know the context here. But I know the photographer being restrained with a neck hold; he is a long-time professional who has covered F1 for many decades. And, based on my own extensive experience with police and security at races, I am not surprised at all.”
Today, in absolutely surreal things: a police officer puts a chokehold on a photographer in Madring for trying to access the podium through a passage authorized for photographers. pic.twitter.com/CJuBG3Ii2B
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— Daniel Atán Romar (@datanromar) September 13, 2026
