Montezemolo takes on Agnelli role.

Just 24 hours after Ferrari had dedicated Michael Schumacher's European Grand Prix victory to the recently departed Umberto Agnelli, the company's president was being installed at the head of Fiat.

Luca di Montezemolo is widely acknowledged as having turned around the fortunes of Ferrari's Formula One operation - and not once, but twice - and it is now hoped that he can do the same for the Prancing Horse's ailing parent company. Although Fiat had continued to make slow progress under the late Agnelli's reign, the effort to reduce debts approaching ?23billion has seen the sale of its insurance and aviation arms to focus on the car and truck industry, and Agnelli's death come as a sad, but unwelcome, interruption in that recovery.

The remaining members of the Agnelli family wasted little time in appoint Montezemolo to the head of the company. He, in turn, was equally quick to appoint Sergio Marchionne, the former boss of Lonza and SGS, as the company's new chief executive. This move - and that which saw Montezemolo arrive in the first place - went down badly with existing CEO Giuseppe Morchio, who promptly tendered his resignation. Morchio had been appointed following the death of Gianni Agnelli in January 2003, and was widely credited with overseeing the changes that began to losses at Fiat Auto.

Montezemolo has been a Fiat executive for 30 years, and is credited with turning around the fortunes of Fiat's sporting division, which includes Maserati and Alfa Romeo as well as Ferrari. Only last week, the charismatic Italian became president of Italian employers federation Confindustria.