After a long few months of speculation and whispers, the news is official – Luca di Montezemolo will stand down from his position as the president of Ferrari.
The 67-year-old will be parting with the company after 23 years of service.
In the more than two decades that Montezemolo led the Prancing Horse, there were many changes implemented to resurrect and refurbish the Ferrari brand, both in the road car division and Formula One.
When Montezemolo was made chairman in 1991, Ferrari had not won a drivers’ world championship in Formula One since Jody Scheckter in 1979. This was unacceptable by the high standards of Ferrari.
In 2000, the team won that elusive championship in the hands of Michael Schumacher, signalling the beginning of a new era for the manufacturer. Between 2000 and 2004, they won consecutive championships, in both the drivers’ and constructors’ standings, through the likes of Schumacher and together with the brilliance of Ross Brawn, Jean Todt and Bob Bell.
In that time, Ferrari road cars were also a huge success in the market. Models such as the F430, the 612 and even the Enzo, named after the father of the Ferrari brand himself, were big hits in the early 2000s.
However, as we got closer to the news of Montezemolo’s departure, things began to become more turbulent inside the Ferrari camp.
Following the rather lacklustre start to the new turbo-era of Formula One this year, the president started to come under heavy scrutiny from both outside and inside the organisation. Prior to the Chinese Grand Prix, the then team principal Stefano Domenicali was stood down from his post and replaced by Ferrari’s road car salesman Marco Mattiacci.
The CEO of Fiat, Ferrari’s parent company, Sergio Marchionne in recent days was rather scathing of the Formula One team’s current state.
“I don’t want to see our drivers in seventh and 12th place,” he said.
“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.”
It is widely alleged that Marchionne will be the one to assume control of Ferrari, with rumours yet again of a potential come back for Ross Brawn in the capacity of team principal and also the possibility of Mattiacci being elevated to Montezemolo’s vacated seat.
Nevertheless, while Montezemolo is still heralded for bringing the sinking team back to success in the middle of his tenure, he was unable to rescue the Scuderia from where they currently are now in terms of Formula One.
Ultimately his reluctance to adapt to the new state of Formula One is what has brought Ferrari into their slump. Despite earlier this year advocating a meeting with all of the sport’s stakeholders to discuss avenues in which the sport could be improved, Montezemolo could not extrapolate any means to better his own team.
In a statement written by the now former president, Montezemolo addressed his loyal followers in a rather papal fashion.
“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,” Montezemolo said.
“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.”
And now it is time to ponder the question of whether Ferrari will truly rise again? Who will be the right person to take over? Do their current Formula One drivers Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen have enough faith in the team with Montezemolo in charge?
The coming months will certainly shed more light on what is to happen with the Scuderia.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
That would be interesting, no one's ever considered Fernando ever getting caught up in financial issues despite his given prowess. Would McLaren who are in the need for both a super star driver and a new title sponsor still be as desperate for him considering that they'd have to buy out his current contract and then write up their own contract with a very large sum for his salary?
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
Who knows what Botin's successor thinks of F1 - or Ferrari, as Alonso's salary is heavily footed by Santander, they might have a big say in his future destination. Luca's successor has to be in it for the long haul as you say, somebody who has relative youth on their side.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Another factor that would have made Fernando Alonso's day worse would have been the news of Emilio Botin's passing. Who knows, perhaps that may have some ramifications with his sponsorship from Santander. I guess all that Ferrari need now is someone with the capacity to revive the F1 team in the same sense Luca did but make it a more long term revival.
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
Haha I must say I was wondering about Bob Bell's history there - though he has been linked to the TP role at Maranello if Mattiacci moves up to Chairman and Brawn isn't tempted to rejoin.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
*Correction! Bob Bell should be Rory Byrne, I realised this just after submitting. Don't know how I got the former.*
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
No doubt Monty was not everybody's cup of tea, yet ultimately, he presided over the most sustained period of success witnessed in the sport. It is somewhat ironic that he should dismantle the dream team of Schumacher, Todt and Brawn (and Byrne), which has led to the current state of affairs. His desire to make Ferrari an all-Italian operation was short sighted, the multi-cultural factor of said personnel played a huge role in the success. As you alluded to, his failure to foresee the future of the sport really was the beginning of the end for his tenure. What effect this has on Alonso's future is unknown, certainly the two had a polarising relationship - especially the 'ear tweaking' episode in 2013, but Monty's departure has ramifications which will not be realised for some time - the state Ferrari's F1 operation is in will take some time to return to glory.