Left: Maurizio Arrivabene, Right: Sergio Marchionne
Autosprint, a leading Italian motorsport magazine, claims that following a disappointing first four races in 2016, Maurizio Arrivabene is facing the sack.
Having won 1 of the four flyaway races in Malaysia last year, it appears Ferrari have slipped back towards their 2014 form which saw the Mercedes team win the opening 4 races of the season.
Having superseded Luca di Montezemolo, new Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne moved quickly to sack his predecessor’s appointment as Scuderia team boss – Marco Mattiacci. It would have been difficult for Marchionne to replace Mattiacci with a non-Italian and so in Arrivabene he appointed a fellow countryman who had served the team for years in a PR role liaising with sponsor Philip Morris.
Maurizio Arrivabene has been a big hit with the media and the fans alike, though he is merely a figurehead with no engineering experience and no large project management experience either.
However, there has been no indication of any internal disputes at Ferrari between James Allison and Arrivabene – so if Maurizio is facing the sack, it could be because Sergio Marchionne needs to ramp up the pressure within the team and someone has to carry the can.