Stefano Domenicali (born 11 May 1965) is an Italian manager and the current CEO of

Formula One Group The Formula One Group is a group of companies responsible for the promotion of the FIA Formula One World Championship, and the exercising of the sport's commercial rights. The Group was previously owned by Delta Topco, a Jersey-based company ow ...

, replacing

Chase Carey Chase Carey (born 22 November 1953) is an Irish-born American executive. He is the former chief executive officer and executive chairman of the Formula One Group. He has previously worked for News Corp, DIRECTV, 21st Century Fox and Sky plc. ...

. He was the CEO of Italian sports car manufacturer Lamborghini from 2016 to 2020. He was the team principal of the Scuderia Ferrari

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

team. Under his leadership Ferrari won their last

Formula One World Championship Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

to date.

Early life

Domenicali was born in

Imola Imola (; rgn, Jômla or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical ...

, the son of a banker. As a child, he used to go to the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari race track at weekends to help out in the paddock and in the media centre – an experience that piqued his interest in motor racing.

Career

Domenicali studied business administration at

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continu ...

, graduating in 1991. Upon graduation he joined Ferrari where he worked in the finance department. Between 1992 and 1994, he was race director at

Mugello The Mugello is a historic region and valley in northern Tuscany, in Italy, corresponding to the course of the River Sieve. It is located to the north of the city of Florence and includes the northernmost portion of the Metropolitan City of Fl ...

and was involved in DTM and other racing series. In 1995 he was appointed head of personnel in Ferrari's sporting department and was involved with sponsorship liaison, before being promoted to Team Manager in December 1996. He remained there until January 2001. After a brief stint as Logistics Manager, he became the team's Sporting Director in 2002. On 12 November 2007 Ferrari announced Domenicali would take on the role of Director of the Ferrari

team, a position previously held by

Jean Todt Jean Todt (; born 25 February 1946) is a French motor racing executive and former rally co-driver. He was previously director of Peugeot Talbot Sport and then Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team principal, before being appointed chief executive offi ...

, and became team principal in 2008. Under his leadership, Ferrari won the 2008 Constructors' Championship, before enduring a less competitive season in which the team won only a single race. In , the team won five races and finished third in the Constructors' Championship, behind

Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing, also simply known as Red Bull or RBR and currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing, is a Formula One racing team, racing under an Austrian licence and based in the United Kingdom. It is one of two Formula One teams owned ...

and McLaren. Domenicali led the team into , which saw Fernando Alonso finish fourth in the championship table, two places ahead of Felipe Massa in sixth. Then came the 2012 season, which saw Fernando Alonso just missing out on the title; a result masked by his outstanding performance, since his teammate was 156 points behind him. He and Ferrari claimed three Grand Prix victories and placed second in both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships. He was named one of "The Men of the Year 2012" by ''Top Gear'' magazine for keeping Ferrari at sharp end of F1, against the odds. Domenicali resigned as Ferrari team principal in April 2014. In October 2014, Domenicali was hired by

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...

. He was also appointed as head of the FIA's Single-Seater Commission. On 15 March 2016 he was appointed CEO at Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. He was replaced by Stephan Winkelmann on 1 December 2020. In September 2020, it was announced that Domenicali would replace

as CEO of

from the 2021 season. Domenicali has also defended F1 using Qatar and Saudi Arabia for F1 races, after he was criticised. There has been widespread criticisim over the use of slave labour in the Gulf countries. https://www.independent.co.uk/f1/f1-qatar-saudi-arabia-race-b1959173.html

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Domenicali, Stefano 1965 births Living people Audi people Ferrari people Formula One people Italian motorsport people Italian sports directors Lamborghini people People from Imola