Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff has paid a glowing tribute🐠 to the late former Ferrari head Sergio Marchionne, adding his ꧙“shoes will be impossible to fill”.

Marchionne, who took over as Ferrari CEO and chairman af𝔍ter Luca di Montezemolo’s resignation in 2014, died earlier last week fol📖lowing a recent illness.

The 66-year-old Italian was renowned as a key player in the automotive industry, and was the figurehead in the turnaround of the FIAT-Ch🐷rysler group, before helping to spearhead Ferrari’s revival in recent years.

“Sergio [Marchionne] was a bigger personality than life, somebody that in the meetings and in the strategy group and ♓in the negotiations with Formula 1 and FIA had the most powerful voice aജnd these shoes are impossible to fill,” Wolff said.

Ferrari named Louꦛis C. Camilleri as its new CEO, with John Elknann being promoted into the role of chairman as part of a succession plan formed as a direct result of Marchionne’s declining health.

While Wolff has no doubts both Camilleri and Elknaan will get up to speed quickly in their respective positions, he reiterated how crucia﷽l Marchionne’s influence was on the Scuderia.

“With Ferrari, they have a management structure that remains unchanged. Maurizio [Arrivabene] was very much in charge for running the team and remains our sparring partner in the sport,” he added.
“Maurizio and Mattia [Binotto] and the ༺group somehow are guaranteed that the Formula 1 team and the operations of the Formula 1 🍰team is going to continue going forward like it has in the past. For negotiations with F1, Maurizio is also very much up to speed.

“He was part of most of the discussions, he represents Ferrari in the strategy gꦯroup so I think it will give the new man coming in a lot of know-how and a lot of information and insofar I think he’s going to be able to catch🍷 up pretty quickly but obviously there was only one Sergio Marchionne.”