Luca di Montezemolo has confirmed he will stand down as Ferrari chairman.After over two decades in charge at Maranello, Montezemolo will leave his post next month.Following Ferrari’s dismal start to F1’s new turbo era, Montezemolo’s future has been the subject of intense speculation in recent weeks and he insisted as recently as last week’s Italian GP that he would not be leaving despite the team’s failure to win a World Championship since 2008.
However, his position appears to have become untenable following stinging criticism from Sergio Marchionne, the head of Ferrari’s parent company Fiat.
“I don’t want to see our drivers in seventh and 12th place. To see the Reds in this state,with the best drivers, exceptional facilities, engineers who are really good, to see all that and then to consider we have not won since 2008,” Marchionne said.
“The important thing for Ferrari is not just the financial results, but also it is winning, and we have been struggling for six years.”
Marchionne himself will now ‘spearhead’ Ferrari following Montezemolo’s resignation, although they have yet to officially confirm the title he will operate under. The outgoing Chairman cited the Italian marque’s upcoming share flotation as the reason for his departure.
The reshuffle could, however, signal a return to Maranello for Ross Brawn, the mastermind behind the Scuderia’s glittering success at the turn of the century and out of work since leaving Mercedes last year.
Unable to keep pace with Mercedes on the track, Ferrari have been in a state of flux off it all year. In April, Stefano Domenicali, their long-time Team Principal, was ousted as the previously-unknown Marco Mattiacci arrived to carry out a root-and-branch review of the team’s faltering F1 operation. The exit of Luca Marmorini, the team’s head of engine and electronics, was announced in late July, but it’s the departure of Montezemolo which marks the end of an era – and underlines the scale of the team’s under-performance since the turn of the decade.
Although Mattiacci confirmed to Sky Sports News HQ earlier this month that both Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, who has endured a dismal season following his return to the Scuderia, the sudden exit of Montezemolo will inevitably prompt fresh doubts about Alonso’s future in particular.
The Spaniard was warmly embraced in the Ferrari garage at Monza by Montezemolo on Saturday and enthusiastically welcomed his assurance that he would be staying on. At the age of 33, time is already running out on Alonso in his quest to land a third World Championship – and his first with the Scuderia – and it remains to be seen if he has the patience to wait for the results of Ferrari’s internal revolution to reach fruition.
“Does he want to hang around as the team gradually get back to the front?” pondered Sky Sports News HQ’s Craig Slater. “It’s a big question whether Alonso wants to stick around to see a long-term prospect at Ferrari with perhaps no real chance of adding to his two World Championships in the next couple of years.
“That will prick up the ears of McLaren, amongst others. They have publicly courted him and they are looking for a big name in the car, either next season or certainly in 2016 when a lot of the driver contracts are freed up.”
There was more upheaval for Ferrari and Alonso on Wednesday with the news that Emilio Botin, Chairman of Santander – a team sponsor and friend of his fellow Spaniard – has died following a heart attack.