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

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

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 ...

, 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. Ed ...

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

Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari S.p.A. () is the racing division of luxury Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari and the racing team that competes in Formula One racing. The team is also known by the nickname "The Prancing Horse", in reference to their logo. I ...

Formula One team. Under his leadership Ferrari won their last Formula One World Championship to date.

Early life

Domenicali was born in Imola, 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, 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 ...

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 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

. On 12 November 2007 Ferrari announced Domenicali would take on the role of Director of the Ferrari Formula One 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 off ...

, 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 and

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formula ...

. 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 Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and M ...

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. The o ...

. 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