Stefano Domenicali (born 11 May 1965) is an Italian

motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...

executive and the current

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Formula One Group The Formula One Group is a group of companies responsible for the Promotion (marketing), promotion of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA Formula One World Championship, and the exercising of the sport's commercial rights. The ...

since 2021.

Early life

Domenicali was born in

Imola Imola (; 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 region Romagna ...

, the son of a banker. As a child, he used to go to the

Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari The Imola Circuit, officially called the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari ( for, it, , Enzo and Dino Ferrari International Circuit), is a motor racing circuit. It is located in the town of Imola, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Ita ...

racetrack 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 (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...

, 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 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 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

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

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

team, a position previously held by Jean Todt, 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, currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing and also known simply as Red Bull or RBR, is a Formula One racing team, List of Formula One constructors#Team's nationality, competing under an Austrian racing licence and based in ...

and

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...

. 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 who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin in Formula One, Aston Martin. Alonso has won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with ...

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. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...

. He was also appointed as head of the FIA's Single-Seater Commission. On 15 March 2016 he was appointed CEO at Automobili

Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. ( , ), usually referred to as Lamborghini or colloquially Lambo, is an Italian manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its su ...

S.p.A. He was replaced by Stephan Winkelmann on 1 December 2020. In September 2020, it was announced that Domenicali would replace

Chase Carey Chase Carey (born 22 November 1953) is an Irish-born American executive who is a board member of Fox Corporation and Liberty Media. He is the former chief executive officer and executive chairman of the Formula One Group. He has previously work ...

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 criticism over the use of slave labour in Persian Gulf countries.

References

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