Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali has rocked the Italian giant by handing his resignation just six days before the Chinese grand prix.
The Italian team have struggled for form this season, and currently sit fifth in the constructors' championship, following an equally disappointing season in 2013, which has seemingly proved too much for the 48-year old.
Domenicali said: "There are particular moments in all of our professional lives where you need the courage to take difficult and very painful decisions.
"It's time to make an important change. As boss, I take the responsibility - as I always have - for the situation we are going through.
"This decision has been taken with the aim of doing something to shake things up."
It is thought that as a professional who demanded the best from himself and his own performance in producing a winning team, he took the difficult decision to leave for the long-term benefit of the team.
No Ferrari driver has won the drivers' championship since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007, and both he and team-mate Fernando Alonso have spoken about lack of competitiveness with this year's car, after the pair slumped to 10th and 9th respectively.
Marco Matiacci, president of Ferrari North America, has taken control of team affairs effective immediately, with many tipping former boss Ross Brawn to eventually make a comeback in the long-term.
Brawn was with the team for their most recent heyday, when the Tifosi won consecutive constructors' championship titles between 1999 and 2004, and could be seen by figures within the team as the perfect man to reverse the ailing team's recent fortunes.