This weekend the traditional Festival dello Sport takes place in Milan, and Stefano Domenicali was invited as one of the special guests of the celebration, which is organized by Italian newspapers Corriere della Sera and Gazzetta dello Sport.
The former head of the Ferrari team, the former head of Lamborghini, and now the president and CEO of Formula 1, spoke in an interview with Corriere della Sera about his great career, his current work and shared his thoughts on how the world The championship should develop in the coming years.
“I was born in Imola, grew up next to the track and from a young age I worked enthusiastically with race organizers, so one day I couldn’t resist sending my CV to Ferrari,” Domenicali recalls. “That’s how I ended up in this company, which was a unique experience in its own way, which lasted 23 years for me.
During this period there were both glorious and difficult moments, but I always tried to listen to people, talk to them, and for me this was the foundation of the foundation. When a team wins, it is not that difficult to lead, but as a person I have never changed.”
This is what Domenicali believes a good Formula 1 driver should be: “First of all, he must believe that he is stronger than everyone else. He must also be able to emphasize every specific aspect of his work and achieve maximum efficiency in every area, and in addition he must gather technicians, engineers, in short, the whole team around him.
When we talk about Michael Schumacher, there has not been a single instance where he ever blamed the team. He was distinguished by incredible strength of character. I know a lot of racers, but Michael is an absolutely exceptional person in this regard.
At Ferrari I have worked with excellent drivers and Lewis Hamilton will soon be racing for the Scuderia, but I was also fortunate to work with Fernando Alonso, who is successfully proving that age is no barrier. As for Kimi Raikkonen, although he seemed very cold and indifferent, in fact in life he is a very sincere person. But when a rider lowers the visor of his helmet, he must become aggressive and violent…
In 2014 I parted ways with Ferrari and after 23 years with the company I found it difficult to think that I had no options to continue my career. But I clearly understood that I had to put some kind of step aside… I remember that on the day I said I was leaving, the whole company expressed their warmest feelings towards me, so I left with the feeling that I have a very important part of the journey completed, although I didn’t know what the next thing would be…
But the next morning I got a call – it was a German number, and it turned out that the head of Audi, with whom we had already had contact in the past, was calling me. And he said he didn’t want to hear my apology. I replied that I needed a period of time to regain my peace of mind, and he suggested that I call him when I was ready. This was a very important moment for me.
I went to Ingolstadt, to the Audi headquarters, more out of gratitude. This company already had an almost completed project in Formula 1, but “Dieselgate” started and everything fell apart. They called me and said they had big problems. I thought I would return to Italy, and 29 days later I was appointed head of Lamborghini.
For me, a new era outside motorsport has begun. I lived in Modena, and if you turn left from there the road will take you to Maranello, and if you turn right you will go to Sant’Agata Bolognese, where the Lamborghini factory is located. The first few days my car seemed to turn left on its own. A new, completely amazing experience began for me.
We succeeded in making the Lamborghini brand more recognizable and two years later production doubled. I spent five wonderful years at this company, but then the Volkswagen Group decided to focus entirely on electric vehicles. I was very against Lamborghini going in this direction, so I was sad to say goodbye to this project, which was very interesting to work on.”
After this, Stefano Domenicali returned to Formula 1, but now as president and CEO of the championship.
“Formula 1 had to change, we had to understand the mood of the fans, because this is an audience of different ages and different views on life,” he continued. – F1 is a platform that is going through a transition period from a pure sports story to an entertainment story. The riders must remain the center of everyone’s attention, but we are increasing our reach through social media because we believe it is fundamental for us to attract the attention of young people.
We have launched a television project in which children participate, and soon a film starring Brad Pitt will be released, and then Formula 1 will take another big step forward. We have to think big, we simply have to make sure that our product is interesting for young people, because this will immediately have a positive impact on commercial indicators.
Formula 1 has never been stronger, everyone wants to get into our championship, because F1 has become what it should be. We have done this in an incredibly short time, but we need to think about further expanding the business. We have to ensure that the fans’ attention remains at a consistently high level, and that is not that easy.
I am fortunate that our shareholders fully trust me. Americans are very pragmatic people. When economic indicators rise, they are happy. Otherwise, their mood may change. But my boss, Greg Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media, is a brave man and is willing to invest in our projects even when many advise him not to.
Formula 1 is going through a very successful period in which there are no problems with good drivers. As a Ferrari fan, I think Lewis joining the team is very important because Hamilton will be a kind of unifying force.
He wants to win his eighth championship and will try harder than ever. On the one hand, Charles Leclerc requires the necessary respect, on the other hand, it is clear that when the riders lower the visor on their helmet… In general, the team must at least have clear internal rules, and the management of Scuderia will have to check their drivers.
If we talk about young racers, there are a lot of them now, and I like that each of them is an interesting personality in his own way. It is very important that young people come to the championship – Formula 1 should not focus on itself. I want to see different faces, I want to see the highest possible level of professionalism.
Formula 1 is my life, but I am afraid that the next serious problem to be solved will be the need to find a good balance in my family life.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.