DECEMBER 21, 2001
Montezemolo to run GPWC?
Representatives of Honda and Toyota will be welcomed at the next meeting of members of the planned Grand Prix World Championship, which will take place in January.
Luca di Montezmolo, the president of Ferrari, seems to be becoming the torchbearer for the new championship. This is interesting as it may give an insight into the Italian's ultimate career goals. He has successfully run Ferrari for 10 years and is now in the process of reviving Maserati as well but it may be that he would like to round off his career by running the sport for a period of time. Montezemolo will be 60 years old in 2007 which will mean that he can have five to 10 years as the chief executive of a new series. He has experience running sporting events, having organized the World Cup soccer competition in Italy in 1990.
There is no doubt that the Ferrari President is well-respected in the F1 community. There is a very clear feeling in F1 that any new series will need someone to lead the way and be a figurehead. The creation of an administration for the sport will not pose much of a problem as many of the people currently working in F1 would happily switch to new roles if given the possibility.
It is generally accepted that for any new championship to be successful it is necessary for the leader to have come up through the ranks and to understand the problems that face those involved. Montezemolo would make the perfect leader in this respect and with David Richards also now lurking in F1 circles there is the potential of a successor to Montezemolo in the much longer term.