FIA Send Condolences as Thousands Mourn Agnelli

Formula One's ruling body, the FIA, paid homage to Fiat patriarch Gianni Agnelli, who died yesterday following a long battle against prostate cancer.

"The FIA extends sincere condolences to the Agnelli family on the sad news of the death of Mr Gianni Agnelli," said the FIA in a statement. "Gianni Agnelli made a uniquely significant contribution to the development of modern motoring and motor sport, his enthusiasm, vision and commitment will be greatly missed.

"Our thoughts are with the Agnelli family at this difficult time."

Thousands have gathered to pay their last respects to Agnelli, the king of Italian business, with Michael Schumacher bowing his head alongside Italians from all walks of life.

Even as the one-time jewel of his industrial empire looked increasingly tarnished, the man who in life never shrank from the spotlight was in death accorded the kind of attention usually reserved for heads of state and religious figures.

Fiat factory workers, top businessmen, sporting stars and union leaders came to the centre of Turin today to mourn the man whose empire spanned cars and energy as well as Chateaux Margaux wines and Ferrari Formula One racing. The lavish send-off underscored Agnelli's status as Italy's de facto royal.

Thousands filed past the coffin laid at Fiat's founding Lingotto factory in the heart of the northern city, where flags fluttered at half-mast under blue skies and against a backdrop of the snow-capped Alps.

Banners emblazoned with Fiat logos hung side-by-side with those from his championship-winning soccer team Juventus, recalling a man who mourners remembered as much for his passion for sport, art collecting and beautiful women as for business.

Police said the factory would remain open all night if necessary.

On Sunday, a memorial is to take place in Turin cathedral, followed by a private family funeral. Agnelli is expected to be buried next to other members of the family.

Agnelli's surviving dynasty lined up to shake hands with those who had come to pay their respects, including Formula One racing driver Michael Schumacher, Ferrari chief Luca di Montezemolo and the whole of the Juventus football team.

Agnelli's younger brother Umberto, who is set to take over the reins of power, stood next to Agnelli's grandson John Elkann, tipped to be the long-term hope for Fiat, the company founded by Agnelli's grandfather in 1899.

Agnelli's death dominated national media coverage, with national papers devoting as many pages to the tragedy as they did to the September 11 attacks. But the soft-focused nostalgia was mixed with questions about how long Fiat's ailing carmaking operations would survive without Agnelli, their great defender.

Umberto Agnelli is seen to be far less enamoured with its cars, which in Fiat's heyday and under Agnelli's stewardship included design icons like the tiny Cinquecento car.

Elena Pertossa, 70-years-old and a nurse on Fiat's factory floor for 20 years, had made her way on to the roof of the Lingotto building, where the Agnelli family famously built a race track to test cars, to pay her last respects.

"He was a happy man, charismatic and intelligent but he died at an ugly moment," she said.