Montezemolo retracts Mosley quit call
The famous Italian marque has been traditionally aligned with the Paris based federation, but – following Mosley's survival at a confidence vote this week – Luca di Montezemolo was quoted as effectively calling for the 68-year-old to now quit.
"I think that he should realize that sometimes it is necessary to say to yourself 'I have to leave for reasons of credibility'," he told Bloomberg TV.
But on Thursday, Ferrari issued a clarification attributed to Montezemolo, who is also chairman of the Italian manufacturer Fiat.
"I am happy that Max Mosley has been re-elected president of the FIA," the 60-year-old Italian said.
"He has done excellent work for formula one in recent years. With regard to the future, it will be entirely up to him to decide if and when he should take a step back."
06/05/08
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| Luca di Montezemolo |
After winning a resounding vote of confidence on Tuesday, Max Mosley lost the support of a man thought to be among his staunchest allies last night when Luca di Montezemolo, the head of Ferrari, called on him to resign the presidency of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). "I think that he should realize that sometimes it is necessary to say to yourself I have to leave for reasons of credibility," Montezemolo told the Ansa news agency.
The Italian team, the current world champions, have long been closely aligned with Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone, the controller of formula one's commercial rights. They significantly failed to join other major teams – including Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Toyota and BMW – who were quick to condemn Mosley's refusal to step down after the revelations of his involvement in a sadomasochistic orgy, published in the News of the World nine weeks ago.
Like Mosley, Montezemolo is a qualified lawyer, but he is a figure of far greater substance. A protégé of Enzo Ferrari and of Gianni Agnelli, he was a rally driver before taking over the Ferrari team in time to guide Niki Lauda to the first of the Austrian driver's world championships in 1975. He then headed the Cinzano drinks company, became general manager of Juventus, managed Italy's challenge in the 1982 America's Cup, ran the 1990 World Cup organizing committee and returned to Ferrari in 1991, masterminding the revival that resulted in Michael Schumacher's five world titles. In 2004 he became president of Italy's industrial confederation, and a year later he was made chairman of the entire Fiat empire.