Photo by Viktor Theo on Unsplash

At this point, some of us have been suckered by the following clickbaity headlines:

"Jony Ive is reportedly in the running to take the driver's seat at Ferrari"

"Report: Apple CFO Luca Maestri and Jony Ive are 'candidates' for Ferrari CEO job"

"Is Ferrari Seriously considering Apple's CFO Maestri and Former Industrial Design Chief Jonathan Ive for their next CEO?"

The first two are unfounded, and the answer to the third headline is: No.

So here's what's happening. Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri abruptly retired last month, citing personal reasons. Camilleri's unexpected departure leaves no obvious successor, and Ferrari Chairman John Elkann has temporarily taken over the reins while the company casts about for a replacement.

Photo by Matt Lamers on Unsplash

As for how Luca Maestri and Jony Ive's names made the rounds, these are Italian-press-generated rumors, unattributed to any reliable inside source. Stefano Domenicali, the new CEO of F1 and Vittorio Colao, former CEO of Vodafone, were also cited in media reports as potential candidates--which spokespeople and sources denied.

"Besides Domenicali and Colao," Reuters reports, "Italian media cited other names including Apple CFO Luca Maestri and Apple former Chief Design Officer Jonathan Paul Ive as possible candidates."

That's all Reuters said, nothing more on Ive. Yet one of the articles linked above breathlessly exclaimed "According to a report from Reuters, Ive — by far the best-known designer in Apple history — is in the running to take over as Ferrari's next CEO."

Sorry folks, but it ain't true.