Luca Di Montezemolo announced on Wednesday morning that he will be stepping down from his position as Ferrari Chairman ending days of speculation about his future.

We reported a few weeks ago that there were plans for Di Montezemolo to leave Ferrari and take up a position at Alitalia. But this was rejected outright by the Italian. Speculation intensified at the Italian Grand Prix about his future but he insisted that he was not going anywhere. Doubts about his future were again put into focus when Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne deemed the Ferrari Formula 1 teams’ performance as “unacceptable”.

His announcement was made the day before a Ferrari board meeting on Thursday.

“Ferrari will have an important role to play within the FCA Group in the upcoming flotation on Wall Street. This will open up a new and different phase which I feel should be spearheaded by the CEO of the Group,” said Di Montezemolo

“This is the end of an era and so I have decided to leave my position as Chairman after almost 23 marvellous and unforgettable years in addition to those spent at Enzo Ferrari’s side in the 1970s, he added”

“My thanks, first and foremost, to the exceptional Ferrari women and men from the factory, the offices, the race tracks and the markets across the world. They were the real architects of the company’s spectacular growth, its many unforgettable victories and its transformation into one of the world’s strongest brands.

A warm farewell and my thanks also to all of our technical and commercial partners, our dealers across the globe and, most particularly, the clients and collectors whose passion I so wholeheartedly share.

But my thoughts go also to our fans who have always supported us with great enthusiasm especially through the Scuderia’s most difficult moments.

Ferrari is the most wonderful company in the world. It has been a great privilege and honour to have been its leader. I devoted all of my enthusiasm and commitment to it over the years. Together with my family, it was, and continues to be, the most important thing in my life.

I wish the shareholders, particularly Piero Ferrari who has always been by my side, and everyone in the Company the many more years of success that Ferrari deserves.”

Marchionne will take up the role as Ferrari Chairman. In the mean time, Di Montezemolo will stay on as chairman until the new Fiat Chrysler Automobiles company floatation on the New York Stock exchange which takes place on 13 October 2014.