Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo can't resist the urge to talk about Formula One. But he admits that one of his biggest challenges these days is not on the racetrack but in the boardroom -- fine-tuning the turn-around strategy for Maserati, the money-losing sister of his pedigree Ferrari cars.

Di Montezemolo told a press briefing late on Thursday that it would take two or three years to make a profit on Maserati -- which Ferrari took full control of last year from its parent Fiat SpA. "We are very busy with Maserati which is a big challenge for us," said di Montezemolo, pausing for an impassioned chatter about Ferrari's great start to the Formula One season and Sunday's upcoming race. "We will continue to lose money for two or three years on Maserati. But our objective is to have two important marques," said the slender, sandy-haired man at the helm of Italy's world-famous luxury sports car company.

RETURN TO THE U.S.A.

Maserati's losses hurt Ferrari's bottom line last year, contributing to a 1999 fall in net profit to 5.8 million euros (US$5.76 million) from 8.1 million euros in 1998. But di Montezemolo is determined to get the marque -- which has passed through the hands of several caretakers over the last 30 years -- back on track. Some $120 million have been invested to build a new factory near Modena, in northern Italy, and to rebuild Maserati so it can compete with rivals such as Porsche and Mercedes.

The strategy is to make Maserati the Ferrari's volume car, by increasing annual output from the current 2,000 to about 10,000 over the next four years.

After a 20-year absence, Maserati will also re-enter the United States, the largest sportscar market in the world and Ferrari's biggest market last year. Di Montezemolo says the turn of the century has started well for Maserati. The existing 3200 GT coupe has received critical acclaim and sold beyond expectations in Germany -- a major European market -- in the first three months of the year.

BACK TO THE RACETRACK

Maserati and Ferrari -- the dream sports car with the world famous prancing horse motif -- will remain two completely different marques with "completely different objectives -- with regard to clients, volumes and prices," says di Montezemolo.

But he doesn't hide his ambitions to give Maserati the chance to return to its sports-car racing heritage. "We are starting to think of competition but we are 90 percent sure it will not be in Formula One," he says. "One company in Formula One is enough for me, for my balance (sheet) and for my heart."