The departure of Luca Cordero di Montezemolo has been on the cards for a while - not least since it's six years since the F1 team won a world championship and Italy's Tifosi are notorious for their impatience and sense of entitlement.
In the end, however, it's not the racing team's problems that have done for the man who at times seemed to be styling himself as the latter-day Enzo.
It is Montezemolo's insistence on maintaining a traditional shape for Ferrari - as an independent company with mostly separate engineering, finances and annual production restricted to 7000-8000 cars a year that has brought the turmoil
Fiat supremo Sergio Marchionne has grown steadily more impatient with what he sees as Montezemolo's intransigence when it comes to making maximum commercial use of the Ferrari name to the benefit of the whole Fiat-Chrysler group.
The rate of growth of VW's Lamborghini organisation - and the prominence of its on-message, youthful management - has shaded Ferrari, for all its power and prominence, in recent years, and Marchionne wants some of that. Today would not be too soon
It's ironic that 23 years ago Montezemolo's return to Ferrari (he had been a very successful F1 race team manager in the Lauda era) was as a moderniser.
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289
@ Steve Cropley
He has his fingers in too many pies and imo cant give Ferrari the 'full-time' attention it needs/deserves.
I also feel that this manner of pushing out Montezemolo so blatantly is unseemly and poor reward for his years of success.
This is not good PR for Ferrari.
johnfaganwilliams
Agree 289
289
@ johnfaganwilliams
If Luca can turnaround Alitalia he should BE the next Pope.
disco.stu
Karma?
He is one of the last of the old guard, and his contributions were great. But it does seem time for him to be moved on himself.
Hopefully Marchionne won't try and increase Ferrari's volumes, and will use their undoubted supercar expertise to instead help grow & develop future Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Abarth models.
www.TheCarExpert.co.uk
Capt_Prospect
Totally Agree...
bomb
LDM...
If he's doing the business on the balance sheet then who cares, right? To a certain extent that's right but I feel Marchionne is more of a car-man, as opposed to an organiser and motivator, and can do just as much good for Ferrari.
Lanehogger
Bigger fish to fry within the FCA Group
Moparman
Onwards to mediocrity!
Bullfinch
"None of them very good."
kcrally
Luca has been rumoured
www.KOOOLcr.com
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