Latest news with #Montezemolo
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Automotive
- Straits Times
Former Ferrari boss Montezemolo becomes a McLaren Group director
FILE PHOTO: Former chairman of Ferrari Luca Cordero di Montezemolo attends an event to celebrate 90 years of Italian premium sports car maker Ferrari racing team at Milan's Duomo square, in Milan, Italy September 4, 2019. REUTERS/Flavio lo Scalzo/File Photo LONDON - Former Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo has joined the board of historic rival McLaren, a move that would have been unimaginable not so long ago. A filing with Companies House by Abu Dhabi-owned McLaren Group Holdings, which controls Woking-based sportscar maker McLaren Automotive, registered Montezemolo as a director on June 27. The 77-year-old Italian joined Ferrari in 1973 as founder Enzo Ferrari's assistant and became team manager in 1974, a year before the late Austrian triple champion Niki Lauda secured his first title. He also presided over the Formula One team during a golden era when Michael Schumacher won five of his career seven titles between 2000-2004 and served as chairman of both Ferrari and parent FIAT. McLaren and Ferrari, the two oldest and most successful teams in Formula One history, have been rivals for decades and were involved in a notorious 'Spygate' scandal that erupted in 2007. British-based McLaren were stripped of all their championship points and fined a record $100 million over a dossier of stolen Ferrari technical documents found in the possession of McLaren's chief designer. Both Ferrari and McLaren are under different management now, with Montezemolo resigning his roles at the Italian luxury sportscar maker in 2014 and focusing on other business interests. CYVN, majority-owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, created McLaren Group Holdings in April after completing its acquisition of McLaren Automotive. The group includes a non-controlling stake in McLaren Racing, the Formula One team whose majority shareholder is Bahrain's Mumtalakat 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 reigning Formula One constructors' world champions while Ferrari last won a title in 2008. Seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton, who took his first title for McLaren in 2008, is now driving for Ferrari. News of Montezemolo's new role was greeted with some amazement in Italy. "Montezemolo-McLaren: What a slap in the face to Ferrari," said sports newspaper Tuttosport in a headline. ANSA news agency quoted Montezemolo as saying his heart "is and always will be red" and his new role was on the automotive side and did not involve Formula One. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
an hour ago
- Automotive
- The Star
Motor racing-Former Ferrari boss Montezemolo becomes a McLaren Group director
FILE PHOTO: Former chairman of Ferrari Luca Cordero di Montezemolo attends an event to celebrate 90 years of Italian premium sports car maker Ferrari racing team at Milan's Duomo square, in Milan, Italy September 4, 2019. REUTERS/Flavio lo Scalzo/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) -Former Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo has joined the board of historic rival McLaren, a move that would have been unimaginable not so long ago. A filing with Companies House by Abu Dhabi-owned McLaren Group Holdings, which controls Woking-based sportscar maker McLaren Automotive, registered Montezemolo as a director on June 27. The 77-year-old Italian joined Ferrari in 1973 as founder Enzo Ferrari's assistant and became team manager in 1974, a year before the late Austrian triple champion Niki Lauda secured his first title. He also presided over the Formula One team during a golden era when Michael Schumacher won five of his career seven titles between 2000-2004 and served as chairman of both Ferrari and parent FIAT. McLaren and Ferrari, the two oldest and most successful teams in Formula One history, have been rivals for decades and were involved in a notorious 'Spygate' scandal that erupted in 2007. British-based McLaren were stripped of all their championship points and fined a record $100 million over a dossier of stolen Ferrari technical documents found in the possession of McLaren's chief designer. Both Ferrari and McLaren are under different management now, with Montezemolo resigning his roles at the Italian luxury sportscar maker in 2014 and focusing on other business interests. CYVN, majority-owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, created McLaren Group Holdings in April after completing its acquisition of McLaren Automotive. The group includes a non-controlling stake in McLaren Racing, the Formula One team whose majority shareholder is Bahrain's Mumtalakat 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 reigning Formula One constructors' world champions while Ferrari last won a title in 2008. Seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton, who took his first title for McLaren in 2008, is now driving for Ferrari. News of Montezemolo's new role was greeted with some amazement in Italy. "Montezemolo-McLaren: What a slap in the face to Ferrari," said sports newspaper Tuttosport in a headline. ANSA news agency quoted Montezemolo as saying his heart "is and always will be red" and his new role was on the automotive side and did not involve Formula One. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Jane Merriman)
Motor 1
17 hours ago
- Automotive
- Motor 1
Longtime Ferrari Boss Might Be Working for McLaren
Luca Cordero di Montezemolo is one of the most important people in Ferrari's history. He first worked for the Formula 1 team in the 1970s and joined the company again in 1991, becoming Enzo Ferrari's successor. In his tenure, which lasted until 2014, Montezemolo oversaw a transformation in Ferrari's road-car business and its most dominant period in F1. Now, it seems he's working for Ferrari's closest rival—McLaren. A Reddit user noticed earlier today that Montezemolo was just listed as a director for McLaren Group Holdings Limited on Companies House, the British government agency that maintains a registry for companies in the country. We've reached out to McLaren Automotive for comment. McLaren Group Holdings Limited controls McLaren Automotive, the road-car division of the famous British brand. Abu Dhabi investment firm CYVN Holdings purchased McLaren Automotive last December and merged it with Forseven, a UK EV startup it also owns. Last month, McLaren Automotive announced Forseven CEO Nick Collins would take over as chief executive for the supercar company. Collins was formerly head of R&D for Jaguar Land Rover. As of right now, it seems like Montezemolo won't have anything to do with McLaren's F1 team, which is still controlled by the Bahrain-owned McLaren Group. Under Montezemolo's tenure, Ferrari's road car business went from malaise to the envy of the automotive industry. The cars that came out during his 13 years at the company are among the best it's ever made—F355, 550, F50, Enzo, 599, 458, F12berlinetta, LaFerrari, and more. He also hugely boosted sales with the California while pushing more limited-run and one-off models too. CYVN wants to turn around McLaren Automotive's business. With Montezemolo on board, it has someone that did the same with Ferrari with panache. Source: Companies House via Reddit Share this Story Facebook X LinkedIn Flipboard Reddit WhatsApp E-Mail Got a tip for us? Email: tips@ Join the conversation ( )
