Ferrari chairman Montezemolo calls it quits

After a long 23 year stint as chairman of Ferrari, 67 year old Luca cordero di Montezemolo will step down on October 13. His responsibilities will be taken over by Sergio Marchionne, chief executive officer of parent company Fiat, who allegdly bears the responsiblity, along with the F1 team’s poor performance, for Montezemolo’s departure. Montezemolo said his decision had been prompted by the flotation plans of the new Fiat Chrysler Automobiles company, which is planned for the New York Stock Exchange next month.

Montezemolo had insisted just this weekend, that reports he was to step down later this year were premature. He added that he had a contract for three years and would be the one to say when he was leaving. However, Marchionne comments concerning the Ferrari F1 team were a little harsh, if true. It has been 4 years since Ferrari has lifted either the driver’s championship trophy or the constructors’. During the 2014 season, Ferrari have been mired in their least competitive season since 1994 and Marchionne seemed to strongly hint that he felt Di Montezemolo’s time at the helm was drawing to an end. Last weekend’s race at Monza was a tipping point as Fernando Alonso retired with a hybrid system failure while team-mate Kimi Raikkonen finished ninth.

During Luca di Montezemolo’s tenure as chairman from 1991 to 2014, Ferrari has increased revenues 10-fold, tripled sales volumes, and with Michael Schumacher’s help, had a driver sitting pretty at the top of the podium an impressive 6 times.

On his stepping down, he commented, “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.”