Montezemolo, Ex-Ferrari, Joins McLaren’s Board: Impact on F1

A move that would have been unimaginable not long ago: Luca di Montezemolo, former Ferrari boss, joins the board of directors of McLaren, his historic rival. The Companies House filing for McLaren Group Holdings, owned by Abu Dhabi and controlling McLaren Automotive, the Woking-based sports car manufacturer, confirmed Montezemolo’s appointment as a director on June 27. The 77-year-old Italian joined Ferrari in 1973 as an assistant to Enzo Ferrari, the founder, and became team director in 1974, a year before the late triple Austrian champion Niki Lauda won his first title. He also presided over the Formula 1 team during a golden age, when Michael Schumacher won five of his seven titles between 2000 and 2004, and was president of both Ferrari and the parent company FIAT. McLaren and Ferrari, the two oldest and most successful teams in Formula 1 history, have been rivals for decades and were involved in the notorious ‘Spygate’ scandal that erupted in 2007. McLaren, based in the UK, was stripped of all its championship points and fined a record $100 million for a dossier of technical documents stolen from Ferrari that were found in the possession of McLaren’s chief designer.

Both Ferrari and McLaren are now under different management, with Montezemolo resigning from his positions at the Italian luxury sports car manufacturer in 2014 and focusing on other business interests. CYVN, majority-owned by the Abu Dhabi government, created McLaren Group Holdings in April after completing its acquisition of McLaren Automotive. The group includes a non-controlling interest in McLaren Racing, the Formula One team whose majority shareholder is Mumtalakat of Bahrain and which operates completely independently. Paul Walsh, executive chairman of McLaren Racing, is also one of the nine directors of McLaren Group Holdings, while McLaren team principal Andrea Stella previously worked for Ferrari. McLaren are the current Formula 1 constructors’ world champions, while Ferrari won their last title in 2008. Lewis Hamilton, seven-time world champion, who won his first title for McLaren in 2008, now races for Ferrari. The news of Montezemolo’s new role was received with astonishment in Italy.

Montezemolo-McLaren: What a slap in the face for Ferrari!

Headline from an Italian sports newspaper

The ANSA news agency quoted Montezemolo as saying that his heart “is and always will be red” and that his new role is on the automotive side and does not involve Formula 1.