Ferrari fall short of high expectations as cloud hangs over Formula One team

High-profile marque facing prospect of upheaval in board room and cockpit

Fernando Alonso of Ferrari walks down the pit lane after he retired from the Formula One Italian Grand Prix in Monza, Italy on September 7, 2014. Srdjan Suki / EPA

Ferrari’s struggles in the current Formula One season no longer are a concern limited to the track. They are a cause for concern in the corporate boardroom, too.

After six years without a championship, events at and around the Italian Grand Prix last weekend appear to have set the stage for sweeping changes.

For the first time since 2008, Ferrari failed to a land a car on the podium in their home race. Fernando Alonso retired because of a mechanical problem on Lap 30 of 53, and teammate Kimi Raikkonen finished ninth.

“In Formula One, as in sport in general, there are days to forget and this was certainly one of them,” said team principal Marco Mattiacci, who was installed in April when Stefano Domenicali resigned amid the team’s worst run in nearly 20 years.

Results are only part of the story.

Speculation had been swirling even before the weekend that Ferrari president Luca Di Montezemolo was being forced out of the company four decades after founding father Enzo Ferrari brought him in.

On Saturday, Montezemolo held court in the Monza paddock and insisted he was happy to stay.

“In March I told the shareholders and especially the people at Ferrari, who I’m very close to, that I would be available for another three years,” Montezemolo said. “If there is then anything new, I myself would be the first to say so.”

Sergio Marchionne, the chief executive of Ferrari’s parent company Fiat and Chrysler, may have interpreted Montezemolo’s words as a warning linked to the pay-off Montezemolo might demand to step aside before his mandate as president ends in 2017.

“We’re not talking about him quitting, but nobody is indispensable,” Marchionne said about 30 minutes before Alonso’s retirement.

“There are two elements of Ferrari that are important for us: economic results, on which Montezemolo has done a great job, and the sporting management. Ferrari’s heart belongs to winning in F1. Seeing it in this kind of shape, without having won anything since 2008 – even with the best drivers in the world and great engineers – upsets me and bothers me enormously.”

Ferrari have not won this season, and with six races remaining, the team risks going without a win for the first time since 1993 – when Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger were the team’s drivers.

“It’s a tough time for the team and the last six races won’t be much better,” Alonso said after stopping on the main straightaway and returning to the paddock on the back of a scooter as tens of thousands of red-clad Ferrari fans looked on in ­astonishment.

“We’ll be behind Mercedes, Red Bull and Williams – we can’t win – and whether I’m fifth, sixth or retired doesn’t change much for me and my future. I want to win.”

A Ferrari car had not retired for mechanical problems in 86 races and Sunday's results dropped Ferrari to fourth in the constructor's standings, behind Williams. Mercedes, who posted a 1-2 finish with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, hold a 182-point lead in the team category ahead of Red Bull.

“We didn’t have the power or speed to pass on the straightaway,” Raikkonen said.

Cars with Mercedes engines took the top six spots in qualifying and Honda is planning a major return to F1 next year with McLaren, which will give Ferrari another big supplier to do battle with.

With Fiat and Chrysler set to list their new merged company on the New York Stock Exchange next month, Marchionne is under pressure to provide results.

“We are at the service of the company,” he said. “When a company changes ideas, or when goals become more centralised, things change.”

Fiat control 90 per cent of Ferrari.

A former chairman of Fiat, Montezemolo is also a member of the company’s board of directors. But not for long.

At Fiat’s most recent shareholder’s meeting, it emerged that Montezemolo will be left off the board of the merged company. Current chairman John Elkann said the move was made to reflect the international composition of the new automaker.

Alonso could be in for change, too. The Spaniard won two F1 titles when he was with Renault and is still one of the top drivers in the sport. But his contract is set to expire in 2016 and so far there has been no word of an extension.

“I’ve always said that I want to stay with Ferrari, and if there are no big changes I’ll stay for at least another two years,” Alonso told Sky TV last week. “But we need to evaluate and work on maintaining this marriage in a winning manner.”

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