Ferrari has no space for 'prophet like Niki Lauda'

Sergio Marchionne says there is no place at the Italian team for former Ferrari champion Niki Lauda. Lauda achieved great success for Maranello as a driver and later worked as a Ferrari consultant.

But the Austrian legend is now a shareholder and team chairman at Mercedes, with his existing contract running until 2020."Niki Lauda is fundamental to Mercedes," Ferrari president Marchionne told Autosprint.

"He always understands what happens in the mind of the driver, which is a great value and he rarely makes mistakes in evaluating what a driver does. However, in our team there is no space for a prophet like him," Marchionne insisted.

He said team boss Maurizio Arrivabene is doing a "great job" with Ferrari's "two complex drivers" Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. (GMM)