Ferrari President Luca Di Montezemolo Will Resign as Formula 1 Team's Chairman

Luca di Montezemolo will step down from his position as Ferrari chairman and be replaced by current Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne.

BBCF1 revealed on Wednesday that the Italian would be resigning from the post he has held for almost 23 years, dating back to the early 1980s:

Di Montezemolo released a statement regarding his decision on Wednesday, the full version of which is provided by Pete Gill of Sky Sports:

"

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.

[...]

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.

"

Ferrari have struggled to adapt to Formula 1's new era of turbo technology and haven't won a constructors' championship since 2008.

Kimi Raikkonen was the last of their representatives to win a drivers' championship in 2007, the company's presence in the sport diminishing greatly since Michael Schumacher's era of dominance came to an end.

Di Montezemolo commented as recently as last week's Italian Grand Prix in Monzo that he intended to stay on in the role, per Laurence Edmondson of ESPN F1:

"

I've heard a lot of rumours regarding myself. This is often happening in the summer in Italy, maybe this time is a little bit too much. I am working, I am here not to have a vacation, I am here because we are working very hard.

We have to improve the team, we have to reorganise, we have to look ahead. So I am very, very busy. I told that I was ready to accept, in last March, three more years to my shareholders and particularly to my people in Ferrari. The men and women in Ferrari to me are the most important part of my life and I took a commitment with them.

"

Those quotes came in relation to an alleged spat with Marchionne, chief executive of Ferrari's parent company Fiat.

Upon hearing Di Montezemolo's staunch defence over his position, the Fiat figurehead gave a daunting statement alluding to the contrary, quoted by BBC Sport as saying: "We are good friends but his statements, these are things I wouldn't have said myself."

Alessandro Trovati/Associated Press

Having started as an assistant to Enzo Ferrari in 1973, Di Montezemolo's Ferrari connections stretch to more than 40 years in full, bringing into some perspective the impact of this decision.

Despite previous years of success, Formula 1 is a sport that evolves as swiftly and drastically as any other, the old ways perhaps not the best ways in this particular industry.

Luca Bruno/Associated Press

No indication has been given as of yet in terms of how long Marchionne intends to hold Ferrari's head position for, or whether the company intends to appoint a new successor.

The Singapore Grand Prix will be Ferrari's first test of the campaign without Di Montezemolo at their helm, the team poised to enter a new phase of their dynasty that brings with it an air of uncertainty.