Fiat’s Marchionne moves into driving seat at Ferrari

Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of Fiat, will take over as chairman of Ferrari next month after the resignation of Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, the sports car maker's chairman for 23 years, following a public spat over its leadership.

Mr Montezemolo’s future as chairman of the carmaker was thrown into doubt over the weekend following criticism by Mr Marchionne about Mr Montezemolo’s failure to lead Ferrari to a Formula 1 championship in six years.

Fiat, which owns 90 per cent of Ferrari, saidyesterday that Mr Montezemolo would resign on October 13th after Ferrari’s celebration of 60 years in the US, its biggest market.

Mr Marchionne said Mr Montezemolo had brought Ferrari to a new level of technological and organisational excellence that brought with it outstanding financial results. But he admitted to “misunderstandings” with him over how to improve Ferrari’s Formula 1 performance.

Mr Montezemolo offered “a warm farewell and my thanks” to Ferrari’s employees, client and fans.

At a joint press conference, the outgoing chairman said: “Ferrari is, along with my family, the most important thing in my life.”