There are tough jobs in the automotive industry, and then there’s the CEO of McLaren Automotive. The ambition for the Woking firm, still only a decade or so into existence as a car maker, was always as tough as it gets: to take on and beat Ferrari.

And who better to lead you into the next generation than a heavyweight from your biggest rival? In this case, that’s Michael Leiters. The new McLaren CEO has a formidable track record: most recently he was technical director at Ferrari during a golden age for the Prancing Horse's models and he also did a stellar stint at Porsche