Jun.29 (GMM) Luca di Montezemolo insists he will not be involved in the running of McLaren’s Formula 1 team.
For over two decades until 2014, the 77-year-old was Ferrari president – presiding over the ultra-successful Jean Todt and Michael Schumacher years.
He was famously bitter when ousted and replaced by Sergio Marchionne.
“They can remove me from Ferrari, but they can never remove Ferrari from me,” the Italian said at the time.
That bitterness never really subsided, as the iconic Maranello marque raced past its Montezemolo era with hardly another mention of its former head.
More recently, Montezemolo told Blick newspaper: “Ferrari has become a team without a heart.”
He also slammed Ferrari’s modern-era leadership.
So it was with surprise and sadness to many this week when Montezemolo put his Ferrari legacy firmly in the past by being revealed as a director of McLaren’s road-car division, McLaren Automotive.
Montezemolo insists, however, that he is not betraying Ferrari on the race track.
“I have become a member of the board of directors of McLaren Automotive, which manufactures cars and is not involved in Formula 1,” he told Ansa news agency.
In April, McLaren Automotive was acquired by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund SYVN Holdings, which also now has a minority stake in the Woking-based F1 team.
Montezemolo insisted: “My heart will always remain red.
“My involvement with McLaren is limited to road cars and has nothing to do with racing.”
The F1 paddock is still full of rumours that Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur’s three-year contract will not be renewed.
“The Scuderia is always seemingly close to the finish line, but then it doesn’t get there,” former Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger told Kleine Zeitung newspaper at the Red Bull Ring.
“It’s hard for the Italians and their fans to swallow, and it’s why the people keep getting swapped out. But that only leads to further turmoil within the team.
“They simply can’t seem to bring consistency to the track,” the Austrian added.
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