Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne steps down from role

Update: Ferrari has confirmed Sergio Marchionne is unable to return to the company following surgery. 

A statement said: ‘The Board of Directors of Ferrari NV (“Ferrari”) (NYSE/MTA: RACE) learned with deep sadness during its meeting today that Chairman and CEO Sergio Marchionne will be unable to return to work.

“The Board’s thoughts are with Sergio Marchionne and his family and it is grateful for the extraordinary contribution he has made in recent years at the helm of Ferrari.

“The Board has named John Elkann as Chairman and will propose to Shareholders, at a meeting to be called in the coming days, that Louis C. Camilleri be named as CEO.

“The Board has also given Louis C. Camilleri the necessary powers to ensure continuity of the company’s operation.”

In a separate statement, Fiat Chrysler said: “during the course of this week unexpected complications arose while Mr. Marchionne was recovering from surgery and that these have worsened significantly in recent hours.”

Camilleri, former CEO of the Philip Morris tobacco group that has a decades-long link with the team, was already a board member of Ferrari. This has major implications not just for the team but for all of F1 as Marchionne has been aggressive in his negotiation stance with Liberty Media regarding Ferrari’s continued participation in F1 from 2021 after the current commercial contracts expire.

His resistance to proposed technical restrictions, cost caps and changes to the traditional preferential payments to the team have been strong, as has his alliance with Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff.

What Camilleri’s stance and style will be in these negotiations is unknown – as is his position regarding the Marchionne-initiated proposal of replacing Kimi Räikkönen with Ferrari Academy Driver Charles Leclerc at the Scuderia for next year.

Camilleri’s Philip Morris background is shared by team principal Maurizio Arrivabene, who is said to be highly supportive of Sebastian Vettel. This has all led to speculation that the Leclerc-Räikkönen swap could yet be reversed or postponed.