Luca di Montezemolo steps down as Ferrari President next month

Luca di Montezemolo steps down as Ferrari President next month

Early this morning it was announced that Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo has confirmed he will stand down as Ferrari chairman next month

After over two decades in charge at Ferrari, Di Montezemolo will leave his post next month. Following Ferrari’s dismal start to F1’s new turbo era this season, Di Montezemolo 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 Kimi Raikkonen in 2008.

With Ferrari unable to keep pace with Mercedes on the track, Ferrari has been in a state of flux off it all year. In April, former Ferrari Team Principal Stefano Domenicali resigned from his post has as the previously-unknown Marco Mattiacci arrived to carry out a root-and-branch review of the team's faltering F1 operation.

Also, the exit of the team’s head of Engine and Electronics Luca Marmorini was announced in late July, but it’s the departure of Di Montezemolo which marks the end of an era and underlines the scale of the team’s under-performance since the turn of the decade.
In a press release issued this morning, di Montezemolo stated the following

'Ferrari will have an important role to play within the FCA Group in the upcoming flotation on Wall Street. This will open up a new and different phase which I feel should be spearheaded by the CEO of the Group.

'This is the end of an era and so I have decided to leave my position as Chairman after almost 23 marvellous and unforgettable years in addition to those spent at Enzo Ferrari's side in the 1970s.

'My thanks, first and foremost, to the exceptional Ferrari women and men from the factory, the offices, the race tracks and the markets across the world. They were the real architects of the company's spectacular growth, its many unforgettable victories and its transformation into one of the world's strongest brands.

'A warm farewell and my thanks also to all of our technical and commercial partners, our dealers across the globe and, most particularly, the clients and collectors whose passion I so wholeheartedly share. But my thoughts go also to our fans who have always supported us with great enthusiasm especially through the Scuderia's most difficult moments.

'Ferrari is the most wonderful company in the world. It has been a great privilege and honour to have been its leader. I devoted all of my enthusiasm and commitment to it over the years. Together with my family, it was, and continues to be, the most important thing in my life.

'I wish the shareholders, particularly Piero Ferrari who has always been by my side, and everyone in the Company the many more years of success that Ferrari deserves.'

It is clear that something needed to be done at Ferrari in order to get themselves back to performing at the level that they need to be at. It is clear that many pundits and fans expected di Montezemolo to leave Ferrari giving their recent seasons of performance, but it is clear that without him that Ferrari wouldn't have had the success that it has enjoyed in its history in the sport and the team owe a lot of that due to his passion, dedication and desire to make Ferrari the best team that it can be.

It is nice to see him thanking the team and its fans publically for supporting him during his time with the team. But it now appears that his position appears to have become untenable following stinging criticism from Sergio Marchionne who is the head of Ferrari’s parent company Fiat with him stating the following on Ferrari's performance over the past few years

'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.

'The important thing for Ferrari is not just the financial results, but also it is winning, and we have been struggling for six years.'

Even though it is clear that Ferrari's recent performances over the past few years is unacceptable to Marchionne, it is clear that he felt that something needed to be done in order to try and get back to winning ways as quickly as possible and rightly so. In my opinion, Ferrari should have done better with what they have at their disposal and there are no excuses for what they have achieved over the past few seasons and should have done better.

It has also been announced that Marchionne himself will now ‘spearhead’ Ferrari following Di Montezemolo’s resignation, although Ferrari are yet to officially confirm the title he will operate under officially. But from the departures of di Montezemolo alongside former boss Stefano Domenicali and engine boss Luca Marmorini, Ferrari are now making steps to ensure that their future is looking brighter than what it is currently and undergoing restructure to achieve the future that they crave and need to have to survive in Formula One long term.

But no matter what you think of di Montezemolo, he has done a lot for Ferrari in his time in charge of the team and he deserves the utter most respect for that. And in whatever he does next, I am sure that the Ferrari team wish him luck in what he does and will always be special to the team.

Question is; is Marchionne the right man for the job or if the rumours are true, is Mattiacci one step away from leading the Ferrari team at the very highest level? Only time will tell and we await an further announcement from Ferrari very soon.