MARCH 6, 2017

Marchionne staying at Ferrari until 2021

Sergio Marchionne will remain Ferrari's president until at least 2021.

Sergio Marchionne will remain Ferrari's president until at least 2021.

That is the news in Italian reports including the authoritative La Gazzetta dello Sport.

In January, we reported that the 64-year-old declared during a news conference that he will "undoubtedly" retire after 2018.

But Gazzetta now reveals that Marchionne "will stay at Ferrari until at least 2021, even after his planned exit from Fiat Chrysler".

The report cited official budget documents which reveal that Marchionne took no salary from Ferrari last year to go with his more than 10 million euro for running Fiat.

La Gazzetta dello Sport also quoted from an internal letter written by the Ferrari president, in which Marchionne said: "2016 was a season to forget.

"But I know that with the new technical team led by Mattia Binotto under the leadership of Maurizio Arrivabene, as well as the talented drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, we have all the right people in place.

"The 2017 season is full of unknowns," he added, "because of the many changes in the regulations and in management, so I refrain from making predictions.

"What I can promise is that we will fight, and that we have the drive, the commitment and the passion to return to the top," Marchionne said.

(GMM)