Official management changes at Ferrari

[lightweight]

The Ferrari S.p.A. Board of Directors, which met today in Turin under the presidency of Luca di Montezemolo, has appointed:

Jean Todt as Chief Executive Officer of Ferrari S.p.A.

Amedeo Felisa as General Manager of Ferrari S.p.A.

Amedeo Felisa has joined the Board in place of Renato Pagliaro who has resigned.

There is no announcement yet about who will replace Jean Todt at the helm of Ferrari’s Formula One team.

Sources:

http://f1.racing-live.com/f1/en/head...25184742.shtml
http://www.formula1.com/news/5193.html
http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpa...s_art_id=29836

So will Todt stop going to Grands Prix? I will miss him if so...
What does this mean for Ross Brawn? Will he take the sabbatical? From what I understand the news so far don't refer to what will happen to him...

[Jack_Bauer]

Well the rumours currently circulating around the Italian media at the moment are that Stefano Domenicali will take over Jean Todt's duties at the race meetings and Todt will focus all/most of his attentions on just running the Ferrari company as a whole. Mario Almondo is tipped as the guy to replace Domenicali as 'Sporting Director'. It is rumoured that Luca Baldisseri will take over from Ross Brawn as technical director if/when he takes his sabbatical. It is also rumoured that the head of the engine department Paolo Martinelli may also leave the team and be replaced by Mattia Binotto. These are all just rumours though, nothing concrete.

If all these rumours do turn out to be true it will mean quite a few high profile figures leaving the day to day running of the team, along with Schumi of course. It will be interesting to see how they cope. Will they carry on the the success of the past 6-7 years, or will they slip back to theiir previous norm of mid-table mediocrity?

[lightweight]

Well, speaking from a managerial point of view, I think that this transition will be difficult.

It's not good to have so many personnel changes simultaneously. The fact that these changes affect such key posts makes this even worse.

Of course, Ferrari will benefit from the fact that there will be internal promotions in order to fill in the empty posts. This means that the replacements are already a part of the Ferrari company and will not need extra time to adapt (compared to an employee coming from McLaren for example).

[motorsportnerd]

Well, on the plus side, Ferrari can now build a team around Kimi Raikkonen. It may have been a little difficulty for Kimi to work with so many of Michael's old team. This way, perhaps he can fit in better and the team will mould around him. Of course, Massa may be hoping that he will be the person the team moulds around.
When Schumacher first arrived at Ferrari, he bought a lot of people with him from Benneton. It took a while for everything to mould together.
The same appears to be happening with Kimi - may take a while to mould. Anybody know if Kimi is bringing any McLaren staffers over to Ferrari with him?

[Zytek_Fan]

Ross Brawn to Super Aguri

[Daz27]

Haha yeah, can just imagine how thrilled RB will be plotting the opportune moment for Sato to pass Montiero in the pits...

[drakkie]

Ross Brawn to Super Aguri

As a matter of fact it has ben semi-confirmed he will join Spijker F1 next season

[lightweight]

Update:

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro has announced some major changes in the line-up of personnel, following the news yesterday that Jean Todt is becoming Ferrari SpA's chief executive officer. For the moment Todt will remain as managing director of the Gestione Sportiva, the sporting department but we believe that this role will be handed on to Brawn when he returns to Ferrari after a year away. Brawn's current position as technical director will go to Mario Almondo while Stefano Domenicali has been named as the team's sporting director, a role which he was previously fulfilling. Also disappearing is Paolo Martinelli, the head of the Ferrari engine programme, who is moving up in the Fiat empire. Almondo will cover both Brawn and Martinelli's roles with the various department heads reporting to him: Aldo Costa heads the chassis department, while France's Gilles Simon is now in charge of the engine department.

[lightweight]

Who is Gilles Simon?

The new head of the engine department at Ferrari is a Frenchman, 48-year-old Gilles Simon, who studied at the Ecole des Mines, one of France's top engineering schools. He graduated in 1984 and immediately joined the research and development department at Renault, where he spent the next four years before being hired by rival Peugeot to work on the V10 engine which Peugeot was planning to use in the World Sportscar Championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours, beginning in 1990. That programme was a great success, culminating in a Peugeot 1-2-3 at Le Mans in 1993.

Jean Todt then left to join Ferrari and Peugeot Sport came under the control of former racer Jean-Pierre Jabouille and the engineers began to develop an F1 V10 and entered F1 in 1994 with McLaren. By then Simon had departed and was working with Todt at Ferrari, doing a design study for a V10 engine. It was agreed that Ferrari would build this engine and in 1997 Simon was appointed head of engine design and development, under Paolo Martinelli.

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns17697.html

[lightweight]

Who is Mario Almondo?

The new technical dirfector of Ferrari is 42-year-old Italian engineer Mario Almondo, who has been with Ferrari since he joined the team in 1991. Prior to that he had studied engineering and industrial management at the celebrated Politecnico di Milano and after graduation was briefly a lecturer before he did his military service. He then moved briefly into industry before joining Ferrari as an engineer. He worked in various different roles, both in road cars and the sport before being put in charge of human resources at Ferrari F1. In 1995 he was promoted to become Industrial Director and put in charge of the Ferrari F1 production, a role he would hold for the next 10 years. Last year he was briefly moved back into human resources but it was clear that he was marked out for bigger things.

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns17696.html

[Zytek_Fan]

As a matter of fact it has ben semi-confirmed he will join Spijker F1 next season

I would make sense though, because Spijker will be getting Ferrari power in 2007

GO SPIJKER F1!

[Kooper]

What I would like to see in a year's time is Schumacher taking up a managerial role somewhere at Ferrari. Now that i think about it, it would be nice to see him in a racer-development/ management role of sorts.

That would be something to see.

[Rockefella]

What I would like to see in a year's time is Schumacher taking up a managerial role somewhere at Ferrari. Now that i think about it, it would be nice to see him in a racer-development/ management role of sorts.

That would be something to see.

I'd actually be surprised if he wasn't involved with Ferrari. Hell, I can see him test-driving a new Formula 1 chassis once in a while.

[lightweight]

I'd actually be surprised if he wasn't involved with Ferrari. Hell, I can see him test-driving a new Formula 1 chassis once in a while.

Yes, that would be a good PR move, for the start of the season.

Just like they do with Valentino Rossi once in a while. They keep the sponsors happy by exposing their logos to the fans!!!!!!!!!

[lightweight]

Jean Todt: “To see such an important chapter in the history of Ferrari come to a close has a special effect on me, even though I know that that's life and we have to accept it. These have been extraordinary years on both the professional and human front, with important achievements coming as a result of the values instilled in our family. I thank Ross and Paolo for their unparalleled efforts and I wish them all the best in achieving the objectives they have set themselves in their new lives. As I said, a chapter closes but life at Ferrari moves onward and it is with pride and determination that we will tackle the next challenges, be they in the industry or in sport."

Ross Brawn: "I wish to thank Ferrari for allowing me to be part of a wonderful period in the history of the team. Everyone knows that Ferrari is a legend but more important are the people who work here. They have demonstrated extraordinary professionalism, loyalty, motivation and passion for their tasks. They are all exceptional human beings. For some time now, we have prepared for this handover and I am pleased to be able to pass on my responsibilities to people whom I am convinced can do an even better job than me. I have great faith in all of them and I am sure they will bring many more successes home to Maranello."

Paolo Martinelli: "I have spent my entire working life with Ferrari, first of all on the Grantursimo cars side, where I worked for sixteen years and then, as of January 1995, at the Gestione Sportiva. Both environments provided exceptional experiences that were fascinating and gratifying. President Montezemolo would often joke about the fact I joined the company when I was still in short trousers, but now I find myself about to take on a third personal challenge in the FIAT Group. I will leave part of my heart at Maranello. These have been unforgettable times as part of a fantastic team made up of people who are exceptional in both professional and personal terms."

Michael Schumacher: “I have to thank Ross Brawn as he has been on hand to help me with all my successes in Formula One. His strong personality and his natural authority have been of fundamental importance for the team. Ross is able to prepare people for the work they have to do, to help and to stimulate them and to point them in the right direction. In my mind, he will always set the standard. In the last six years of Formula One, I have only suffered two engine failures and that says all there is to say about the quality of Paolo's work. It is not because of what happened at Suzuka that we have not been able to take the final title win, but in fact, the reliability of the engine has always been at the root of our success. I hold him in great esteem and wish him all the best on his new professional path."