Montezemolo “betrays” Ferrari and enters the McLaren Group

Amazement and a pinch of disbelief, but the news is true. Meanwhile, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo has been appointed administrator of McLaren Group Holdings Limited. However, a company that controls McLaren Automotive and holds a minority participation in the British Formula 1 team. Moreover, Yesterday McLaren Group Holdings filed the appointment of Montezemolo in its Board of Directors at the Companies House of the United Kingdom. However, where he will support eight other members.

Last December McLaren Automotive was sold to the Sovereign Fund of Abu Dhabi (Cyvn). Similarly, is now separated by McLaren Racing. Consequently, The only link between the two companies is a minority share of the racing activity still in the hands. Consequently, of the automotive group. Nevertheless, McLaren Racing’s majority share is owned by the Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, Bahrain’s sovereign fund.

Despite being in montezemolo “betrays” ferrari enters mclaren a position far from the activity of the Corse team. the news of the Montezemolo entrance to the Galaxy McLaren has aroused great surprise. His figure was linked to Ferrari for decades. first as sports director from 1973 to 1977, then as president from 1991 to 2014, twenty -three years in which the team returned to the world summit rewriting many records. The Montezemolo palmares includes 118 won GPs, 14 pilot world titles and manufacturers, including eleven consecutive from 1999 to 2004.

Luca Di Montezemolo

Photo by: Ferrari

During his period at the helm of Ferrari there was no lack of clashes with McLaren. on the track and beyond. In 2007 the ‘Spy Story’ scandal broke out. a controversy that saw Maranello’s team victim of an industrial espionage affair of which McLaren benefited. After a long legal dispute. the FIA ​​issued a sentence against the British company, hitting the score matured in the manufacturers’ ranking and delivered the 2007 world title to Ferrari, as well as sanctioning McLaren with a fine of 100 million dollars. “Let’s say that we at Ferrari were very good – commented Montezemolo at the end of the story -. we built a car for us … more than half for others. But in the end it won the original one, in montezemolo “betrays” ferrari enters mclaren the face of counterfeiting”.

After eighteen years Montezemolo. now seventy -seventeenth -century, will play an active role in the automotive division of the historic British brand, sitting on the board of directors alongside Nick Collins recently appointed CEO. At the beginning of this week. the president of the McLaren group, Paul Walsh, was also added to the same Council.

After two months. the presence of Montezemolo at the Bahrain Grand Prix of last April, a guest of the hereditary prince of Bahrain, Salman Bin Hamad al-Khalifa, who controls McLaren Racing, appears less random. A visit that reported the former president of Ferrari in a Formula 1 paddock after 10 years of absence. Who knows if the next appearance in Formula 1 of Montezemolo will be in the Hospitality Papaya …