Luca di Montezemolo, the former Ferrari chairman, has been appointed as a director of McLaren Group Holdings Limited in a surprise move.
Di Montezemolo cut ties with Ferrari in 2014 after a long spell as chairman, which saw the team enjoy a historic period of success with F1 icon Michael Schumacher.
Former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo links up with McLaren in surprise move
Additional reporting by Mat Coch
On Friday, the 77-year-old was appointed as a director of McLaren Group Holdings Limited, which controls the road car-based McLaren Automotive business and holds a minority stake in the manufacturer’s F1 team.
Di Montezemolo resigned from Ferrari in 2014 and has since been president of the beleaguered Alitalia and was part of Rome’s unsuccessful efforts to attract the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Despite McLaren Group Holdings Limited’s links to the F1 team, Di Montezemolo’s involvement is set to be limited to the road car division.
Di Montezemolo confirmed that he will have no influence on the McLaren F1 team, vowing that his heart belongs to Ferrari.
He told Italy’s ANSA: “My heart is and will always remain red.
“I have become a board member of McLaren Automotive, which produces road cars, and is not involved in F1.”
McLaren has enjoyed a stunning resurgence in F1 over recent years, ending its 26-year wait for a Constructors’ Championship in 2024.
The team currently holds a a commanding 175-point lead in the teams’ standings having won seven of the 10 races held so far in F1 2025.
That success comes following a financially turbulent period for the Woking squad, which stared down potential backruptcy during the global pandemic.
That saw a slice of McLaren Racing sold off to MSP Sports Capital, which acquired a third of the business in 2022.
In recent weeks, a convoluted ownership structure has seen CYVN Holdings acquire McLaren’s automotive business while taking a non-controlling take in the Racing operation.
“McLaren Racing has been on an incredible growth trajectory over the past few years as we made our way back to the front of the grid, where this storied team belongs,” said McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown of that deal.
“We’re in rude health and incredibly excited about the future – our sport has never been in a better place. The completion of the deal and investment in the wider business will allow us to continue on that growth path going forward.”
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Meanwhile, Ferrari remains without a title triumph of any kind since the team’s Constructors’ title success in 2008, with the Scuderia’s last Drivers’ Championship coming courtesy of Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.
Ferrari’s underwhelming start to the season has increased the pressure on team principal Fred Vasseur amid reports in the Italian media that he could be replaced.
It has been suggested that Antonello Coletta, the head of Ferrari’s World Endurance Championship operation, could take over if Vasseur is replaced.
PlanetF1.com understands that Ferrari recently made an approach to Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal, with the team’s hopes of landing the 51-year-old believed to be extremely remote.
Di Montezemolo has been a vocal critic of the current Ferrari regime, claiming at the Bahrain Grand Prix in April that the team suffers from an absence of leadership.
He said: “This is a team that at certain times lacks a leader, lacks leadership in the broader sense.”
Di Montezemolo also dismissed Lewis Hamilton’s hopes of winning a record eighth title with Ferrari, commenting: “His dream of winning the World Championship title with Ferrari will not come true.”
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