• Formula One team’s president since 1991 stands down • Follows criticism from head of parent company Fiat • Alonso to stick with Ferrari despite ‘boring’ slow car

Ferrari’s long-serving president Luca di Montezemolo has announced he will leave the team next month, in the wake of criticism from Sergio Marchionne, the chief executive of parent company Fiat.

The 67-year-old, president since 1991 and credited with turning Ferrari around, was under contract for three more years, and had recently denied he would be leaving. However, he will now depart on 13 October, with Marchionne taking on the role.

Marchionne had praised Di Montezemolo’s success in leading Ferrari to a successful financial position, but criticised the Formula One team’s failure to win a drivers’ or constructors’ title since 2008, saying: “The important thing for Ferrari is not just financial results but also winning – and we have been struggling for six years.”

In a statement, Di Montezemolo said: “Ferrari will have an important role to play within the Fiat Chrysler 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.

“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.”

Di Montezemolo also passed on his thanks to “the exceptional Ferrari women and men from the factory, the offices, the race tracks and the markets across the world”.

He added: “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.”