ANALYSIS: Why Ferrari chose Mattiacci

Ferrari's bosses are convinced that the relatively unknown Marco Mattiacci is just who its Formula 1 team needs to lead it to the front of the grid.

Mattiacci (LEFT) has already been involved in lengthy meetings in Maranello this week, and he starts work immediately on the pit wall at this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix.

While big-name figures from inside the sport would have grabbed headlines as the replacement for Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari instead felt it was more important to have someone who understood the Ferrari organization rather than simply having a knowledge of F1.

It has been suggested that while learning how the sport works is a big task, it is not as complicated as getting on top of the machinations inside Maranello. In Mattiacci, Ferrari has someone who excels in the latter. He has become something of a golden boy within the company through his achievements in expanding Ferrari's road car business in the Far East and the United States.

Having originally moved to Ferrari from Jaguar in 2009, Mattiacci worked in the Middle East before heading the product launch for Maserati in the United States. A promotion to president and CEO of the Ferrari Asia Pacific Region in June 2006 was following by a switch to a similar role in North America.

His drive and management skills helped Ferrari increase its sales by 20 percent in the United States, with it become the Prancing Horse's biggest market. Those efforts were rewarded with the 2012 Automotive Executive of the Year Award.

Mattiacci's work there brought him in to contact with Ferrari's worldwide motorsports programs, especially in sports cars, and also marked him out by Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo as one of the Italian company's brightest young managers. Di Montezemolo believes his skill set will be well placed to help the Ferrari F1 team move forward and recover from its disappointing start to the 2014 campaign.

Beyond just improving how Ferrari works, it is hoped that Mattiacci will be able to help the F1 team maximize the commercial and structural resources of its road car division as Mercedes has done, to help push its team on to success.

Crucially, Mattiacci arrives highly trusted by senior management, which will make life easier for him to make changes that he feels are necessary. He also comes with no F1 baggage, which means he can approach matters with a fresh perspective to help the team become more reactive to the sport's current needs.

Originally on Autosport.com