Luca di Montezemolo Joins McLaren, an Unexpected Move
In a surprising turn for the automotive world, Luca di Montezemolo, former Ferrari boss, has been appointed to the McLaren board of directors, a move that seemed unthinkable some time ago.
According to documents filed at Companies House by McLaren Group Holdings, owned by Abu Dhabi and which controls McLaren Automotive, based in Woking, Montezemolo was registered 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 in which Michael Schumacher won five of his seven titles between 2000 and 2004. In addition, he was president of both Ferrari and FIAT, the parent company.
McLaren and Ferrari, the two oldest and most successful teams in Formula 1 history, have been rivals for decades, involved in the notorious “Spygate” scandal of 2007.
McLaren, based in the UK, was stripped of all its championship points and fined a record $100 million for a file 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 brand in 2014 to focus on other business interests.
CYVN, majority-owned by the Abu Dhabi government, created McLaren Group Holdings in April after completing the 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.
The news of Montezemolo’s new role was received with astonishment in Italy.
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.
