Marchionne to quit Ferrari

Italian news sources are insisting CEO and President Sergio Marchionne will wind down his Ferrari commitments next year before stepping down in 2019.

While that’s being reported as big news in Italy, it shouldn’t surprise anybody. Marchionne, who is also CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), himself confirmed the timetable as far back as 2014, when he insisted he would retire in 2019.

Fresh off successes and controversies on and off the racetrack, Ferrari is expected to replace Marchionne with the 53-year-old Alfredo Altavilla, a favourite of Exor CEO and FCA Chairman, John Elkann. Exor is the Agnelli family holding company that controls Ferrari, CNH, FCA and The Economist, as well as the Juventus soccer team.

A hard-nosed financial master, Marchionne’s most recent controversy was a public one this week, where he demanded the Formula 1 team sit down with Kimi Raikkonen for a frank chat about his poor results in this season’s first two races.

While Sebastian Vettel won in Australia and was second in China on the weekend, Raikkonen has yet to see a podium, driving to meek fourth and fifth places.

The 64-year-old Marchionne brought FCA back from the financial brink, took over Ferrari from long-time head Luca di Montezemolo in 2014 and is the world’s foremost loose-jumper enthusiast. He also sits on the board of tobacco giant Philip Morris, whose Marlboro brand still adorns the Ferrari team’s Formula 1 cars.