1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites

Di Montezemolo joins Ferrari exodus

September 10, 2014

Formula One's prancing horses have looked ripe for the glue factory in 2014. After the floundering Ferrari outfit sacked its team principal and engine head, Chairman Luca di Montezemolo is now stepping down.

https://p.dw.com/p/1D9d7
Ferrari Chef Luca Cordero di Montezemolo 2014
Image: Harold Cunningham/Getty Images

Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said on Wednesday that he would quit his post at the end of the month, after the Scuderia suffered a disastrous home Grand Prix at Monza on Sunday.

The chairman of parent company Fiat, Sergio Marchionne, will take over di Montezemolo's role at the sports car maker and Formula One's most successful team in history.

"Ferrari will have an important role to play within the FCA [Fiat Chrsyler Automobiles] group in the upcoming flotation on Wall Street," di Montezemolo said in a statement. "This will open up a new and different phase which I feel should be spearheaded by the CEO of the Group."

Ferrari Chef Luca Cordero di Montezemolo 2014
Poor F1 performance in 2014 likely played a major part in the moveImage: Reuters/Stefano Rellandini

The Italian businessman and politician called Ferrari "the most wonderful company in the world," saying he was leaving after "almost 23 marvelous and unforgettable years in addition to those spent at Enzo Ferrari's side in the 1970s."

Cleaning house

Di Montezemolo had been linked with the role as president of Italy's struggling flagship airline Alitalia in recent weeks, with the 67-year-old deflecting questions on the Alitalia rumors at this weekend's Italian Grand Prix in Monza. Prior to the race, Fiat's Marchionne had also strongly hinted at the prospect of di Montezemolo's departure.

"We're not talking about him quitting but nobody is indispensable," Marchionne said on Sunday, moments before one of the prancing horses pulled up lame mid-way through the F1 race at Monza. At Ferrari's home track, lead driver Fernando Alonso retired - suffering his first mechanical failure since 2010 and at the worst possible moment - while Kimi Raikkonen could only finish ninth. The race - like most of the current season - was dominated by Mercedes-powered cars; rival suppliers Renault and Ferrari have struggled to keep pace with the Mercedes power units in 2014.

Stefano Domenicali
Ferrari let its F1 team principal, Stefano Domenicali, go earlier in the seasonImage: picture alliance/Thomas Melzer

"My thoughts go also to our fans who have always supported us with great enthusiasm especially thorugh the Scuderia's most difficult moments," di Montezemolo said.

Ferrari Chef Luca Cordero di Montezemolo mit Schumacher 2006
Di Montezemolo brought Michael Schumacher to Ferrari, who delivered the team's best-ever run of resultsImage: Vladimir Rys/Bongarts/Getty Images

Faced with one of its worst seasons in recent memory, and chasing its first F1 championship since Kimi Raikkonen's 2007 drivers' title, Ferrari had already disposed of F1 team principal Stefano Domenicali and engine division director Luca Marmorini during the 2014 season.

Di Montezemolo had presided over both Ferrari's worst-ever F1 drought and its most successful winning streak during his time with Ferrari. The Italian, once mooted as a possible center-left rival to multi-term former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, was chairman at Maranello when Michael Schumacher led the team to five consecutive drivers' and constructors' championships between 2000 and 2004. Prior to this winning run, Ferrari had gone 21 years without any Formula One championships, barren since Jody Scheckter's drivers' title in 1979.

msh/es (AP, SID)