Fiat Chrysler has confirmed company CEO and chairman at Ferrari, Sergio Marchionne, has stepped down from his positions with immediate effect over health issues.

The Italian-Canadian had been in charge at Maranello since 2014, when he replaced long-time chairman Luca di Montezemolo, and has been involved in a major upturn in the Formula 1 team's fortunes.

From a lowly state with an out-of-date structure four years ago, now the Scuderia has a thriving environment today where innovations have put the team back at the front and potentially on course for their first championship in 10 years.

Marchionne also gave the green light for Alfa Romeo's return to the sport this year with Sauber as title sponsor and technical partner, with talk of possibly a full works team in the years to come.

Still his departure was already expected with plans to leave the Italian carmaker later this year, however, that process has had to be fast-tracked as complications after surgery have left him unable to continue in his day-to-day role.

At Fiat, he is set to be replaced by the head of Jeep, Mike Manley, who has been brought in temporary charge while a proposal is put forward to the company board to make that a full-time move.

Meanwhile, at Ferrari, John Elkann, an heir to the Fiat company, has been confirmed as the new chairman and has proposed Louis Carey Camilleri, a former CEO at Phillip Morris, be installed as CEO at Maranello.

Marchionne's departure could also have a drastic impact in the Formula 1 arena as he was known for the combative position he took against Liberty Media and their proposals to overhaul the sport in 2021.

Following the unveiling of possible changes to the engines for that year, aimed at making them simpler, cheaper and noisier, the now ex-Ferrari chief threatened to pull the Scuderia out of the sport, claiming the DNA was being changed and the direction being considered was more akin to NASCAR.

That was even before other topics, such as revenue distribution, bonus payments, of which Ferrari receive the highest, and budget caps reach a critical stage in negotiations where the details will likely not go down well at big manufacturers.

With Marchionne out of the picture, however, will that lead to a softening of the company's position or at least one with more flexibility, or will Elkann maintain a possible quit threat should he too disagree with F1's American owners.

That will be one of the big political stories to follow between now and the end of the year.