Stefano Domenicali is just Ferrari’s latest "scapegoat", according to another former Ferrari team boss.
Cesare Fiorio, who led the Maranello team before the ultra-successful Jean Todt era, likened Domenicali’s departure to that of Aldo Costa, who left Ferrari three years ago.
Designer Costa was responsible for the ultra-dominant 2014 Mercedes project.
"It is a shame that Stefano Domenicali is portrayed in the same manner as the scapegoat before him, Aldo Costa," Fiorio told the German-language Speed Week.
"It is a simplistic point of view, without analysing the true reasons for success and failure," he added.
However, Fiorio thinks Domenicali’s successor, the F1-unknown Marco Mattiacci, needs to be given a chance to perform.
And he thinks Mattiacci’s lack of experience is not necessarily a fatal flaw.
"80 per cent of all management decisions are similar, regardless of the industry," said Fiorio.
"Only 20 per cent require the knowledge and experience of the specialist area, but this experience cannot be gained in a month or even a year," he warned.
But Fiorio thinks Mattiacci has time on his side.
"The bottom line is that we can already say that 2014 belongs to Mercedes," he said.