According to MTV3 Montezemolo is leaving Ferrari as he has been nominated to be the head of AlItalia. The deal with Etihad Airways which bought 49% of the shares of Alitalia was said to happen because of Montezemolo. John Elkann is rumoured to be the head of Ferrari.
quoteJohn Elkann From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia John Elkann Born John Philip Jacob Elkann 1 April 1976 (age 38) New York City, New York Nationality Italian Occupation Industrialist Religion Catholic Spouse(s) Lavinia Borromeo Children Leone Elkann Oceano Elkann Vita Elkann Parents Margherita Agnelli de Pahlen and Alain Elkann Relatives Gianni Agnelli grandfather Edoardo Agnelli great-grandfather Giovanni Agnelli (founder of Fiat) great-great-grandfather Andrea Agnelli first cousin
John Philip Jacob Elkann (born 1 April 1976) is an American born Italian industrialist. He was the chosen heir of Gianni Agnelli, his grandfather, and controls the family's automaker Fiat (which also owns the Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Lancia, Maserati, and Ferrari brands, and in July 2011 acquired control of Chrysler,[1] which also owns the Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Mopar brands).[2] He is the Chairman of Fiat and the Chairman and CEO of Exor, an investment company controlled by the Agnelli family, which owns Fiat Industrial, Juventus F.C., Cushman & Wakefield. According to Fortune, he is the world's fourth most influential manager under the age of 40.[3]
quoteMontezemolo dismisses Alonso and Raikkonen rumours
August 13, 2014
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has dismissed speculation surrounding the futures of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen at the team.
Ferrari's disappointing start to the season has left both Alonso and Raikkonen struggling for results and sparked speculation they may leave the team. Alonso has a contract until the end of 2016, but is rumoured to be a target of McLaren's for next year. Raikkonen has a contract until the end of 2015, but his future has also been questioned after failing to match the pace of Alonso so far this year.
However, Montezemolo said such rumours are unfounded and both drivers are central to Ferrari's plans to turn its fortunes around.
"We are lucky to have two great champions, who are working with the whole team to get back to being competitive again," he told Ferrari's website. "Of course, as is the case every summer, there is unfounded gossip about alleged problems with senseless rumours bandied about, such as the ones relating to Alonso's contract or those of drivers' salaries.
"We know that the summer heat always produces silly stories. Our drivers must now relax in order to return in top form. The season is still long and we need Fernando and Kimi to be in great shape. And on the subject of Kimi, I wish him all the best as he is soon to become a dad."
Since bringing in Marco Mattiacci to replace Stefano Domenicali as team principal, Montezemolo said changes had been put in place that would start to yield results in the near future.
"We are making in-depth changes on both the organizational side, in our approach and culture. We have taken important decisions and have made significant progress, even if, at the moment, the results of all this work are not always visible. The aim is to get back to being as competitive as we were before in the shortest possible time, while at the same time putting everything in place so that we can embark on another winning cycle.
"As for our sport in general, we are pleased to see that all the major players share the views we first put forward regarding the need to revamp Formula One. We have proposals aimed specifically at improving the show, starting with more straightforward regulations, which put the spectators first, especially the younger generation."
Luca Marmorini has criticised his former team for asking him to build a smaller power unit than those designed by Mercedes and Renault because the smaller size, albeit down on power, would award them better aerodynamics, making up for the power deficit.
The Italian oversaw Ferrari's V6 power unit development programme but, with the team scoring just two podiums so far, he was forced out during a reshuffle in July.
Speaking to journalist Leo Turrini, Marmorini revealed the decision came from chief designer Nikolas Tombazis who assured him that a smaller unit would allow for better aerodynamics which would make up for any power loss.
"In short, it was made out that all the woes of the F14T are the fault of the power unit," he said. "As if a company with the history of Ferrari had forgotten how to make engines!
"With my colleagues I packaged a power unit with a certain size, a smaller version of the Mercedes and Renault, because we were asked by the project manager of the car, Mr. Tombazis.
"[He] said we want a very compact power unit, with small radiators, because the power loss will be compensated with aerodynamic solutions that will guarantee us an advantage over the cars [of] Mercedes and Renault.
"It's been exactly like that, except that, when we were confronted with the competition, the horses (horsepower) were obviously less, but this was not compensated by aerodynamics!"
He also revealed that he had spoken to new team principal Marco Mattiacci just twice during the three months they worked together prior to his departure.
"I would like to explain to Marco Mattiacci [what the problem is], but with Mattiacci, in three months, I exchanged just a few words. We saw each other twice, the first for the greetings, the second when he gave me a letter that confirmed my farewell to the company." - See more at: http://www.f1times.co.uk/news/display/09...h.PZEEZF2U.dpuf
quote Lorenzo De Luca @LorenzoDL83 Foto: Mattiacci ” I definitely have an adavnatge. You need to do a trade off with someone that has not been... http://tmblr.co/ZAF-Ys1OpV_98
quoteTed mentioned on the F1 show that James Allison said "Its going to be very difficult to get this years Ferrari to Kimi Raikkonens liking even by the end of the season,there are some problems with the front of the car that are "baked in" to this years car, which means it is not giving Kimi Raikkonen the feel and the grip he wants at the front of the car"
Q: You’ve worked with both the drivers that you’re with at the moment quite a lot through your career. Obviously what Fernando is doing this season is fairly clear but can you spell out or put your finger on what’s characterised Kimi’s season so far?
JA: Well, I would say that we have had a car that is not especially easy to drive – that’s certainly true. Particularly in Kimi’s case he doesn’t much like the front end of the car and Kimi’s a driver who likes to have a very strong and predictable front end to the car and then he’s able to make the most of the skill he had. That isn’t something he’s found yet in Ferrari and we haven’t yet provided for him. That’s, I think, what we’re looking at.
Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) James, as Fernando and Kimi, they have different kinds of driving style. Is it possible to build a car that suits both of them next year?
JA: Yeah, I think so. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t, put it that way. Any driver responds to more downforce, any driver responds to more horsepower, any driver responds to more mechanical grip. We’re putting all of those things into next year’s car and I hope that both the drivers will be satisfied with the outcome.
yes but that is the transcript from the pc and he spoke to Ted afterwards and that's what I posted. He was a bit clearer then and didn't sound happy at all with the design, that they are limited there so I'm sure he will change that for next year
That is the question, would they change that for Kimi if what they have now seems to work for Alonso?
We will have to wait and see IF it happens
Edit: well, if someone knows that when you give Kimi what he wants he will deliver is Allison. So he knows they could win with Kimi and don't be so dependent of Alonso. But now I'm back to the question: would they want to do it? Or is it keeping Alonso happy more important...
I don't doubt they will. First of course the aim is to build a car which is faster and not just make any driver happy but as they know what Kimi's problem is this year why should they not try to get rid of it? They build this years car without knowing that Kimi would be there but now it would be really stupid not to help him. Probably going back to push rod suspension will already make it better for Kimi. And I don't think this will be any disadvantage for Alonso.
quote However, despite Alonso leading Raikkonen by nearly 100 points at mid-season, Allison believes wholesale improvements to the team’s package for 2015 will aid both drivers.
"There's no reason why we shouldn't," he said when asked if Ferrari can build a car that satisfies both drivers' styles.
"Any drivers responds to more downforce, any drivers responds to more horsepower, any drivers responds to more mechanical grip – and we are putting all of those things into next year's car. My hope is that both of the drivers will be satisfied with the outcome."
It would be great to have more downforce, horsepower and mechanical grip. But I was refering to having a more understeering car instead of an oversteering one in order to give Kimi a strong front end.