Stefano Domenicali has stepped down as Ferrari team principal. The news had not been expected.
“There are certain moments in the professional life of each of us where it takes courage to make tough decisions,” Domenicali said. “It’s time to implement a major change. I take responsibility – as I always have – for the situation we are experiencing. It is a choice taken with the desire to do something to give a jolt to our environment and for the sake of this group, which are closely linked. I sincerely thank all the men and women of the team, the drivers and partners for the wonderful relationship we have had in these years. I wish you all that you can quickly return to the levels that Ferrari deserves.”
Ferrari has struggled in recent years and has not won a World Championship since 2007. This year the cars – and the power units – have not been competitive.
The job of running Gestione Sportiva will go to Marco Mattiacci – CEO of Ferrari North America.
joeblogsf1 
Can Sportiva drive a taxi?
Lotus need a decent Principal. Surely Domenicali would be a decent choice?
No, thanks, they’ve got enough their own troubles….
“Lotus need a decent Principal.”
I think Lotus need a damn sight more than just that.
You’re not wrong, but the rebuilding has to start at the top. Bob Bell may not be a bad choice either….
Let´s hope that Mattiacci is a temporary patch. Hopefully Lucca will be out on a river bank somewhere sweet talking Ross Brawn (who should have been team principal after Todt) to come back to Maranello.
Or to undo Martin Whitmarsh from whatever entanglement he still has with McLaren?
Not sure Whitmarsh would fit the Ferrari family style tho.
It would be great to have Brawn back, but I suspect he’s finally gone fishing for good.
As a lifelong Ferrari fan I’m sorry Dominicali had to fall on his sword.
So . . . Ross Brawn?
So . . . Ross Brawn?
No. He’s been there (to that team), done it, got the mug, t-shirt, poster,etc. Ross doesn’t appear to be a fan of re-treading familiar pathways.
He did it at MB he can do it at Ferrari – if they (Luca) let him
Always seemed like a nice guy but possibly out of his depth / not properly supported.
Could be a good candidate for Haas maybe? Has the Ferrari connections, the F1 experience etc…
“Hello Ross? It’s Luca here…”
And the man from Del Monte, he say………………..no.
Correction – They won the WCC in 2008. The point, however, is still relevant.
One can hope that because they are working ‘up’ the list of responsibility for each year of failure, that the snake that is Luca will give up his grasp on the company if they fail next year.
That said, Italian politicians don’t seem to go easily.
Honest and decent guy, I liked him.
Me too
Honest and decent guy, I liked him.
Honest and decent he may have been, but you are judged on results. And he wasn’t getting them, and hasn’t been for some time. Ferraris start to this year is, relatively speaking, a disaster. They’ve spent untold millions on getting to the front of the pack, yet in the last GP found themselves ousted by the likes of Williams and Force India, who comparitively speaking run on limited budgets (for that, read “controlled” budgets as opposed to “spending money like water.”). They could hardly scrape into the top ten. The buck had to stop somewhere. And expect that Montemezelo is under pressure as well……..
Yep.
Still liked him
to be fair since 2009 no-one has won anything since then and Ferrari came closest of all to beating red bull .
Wholeheartedly agree. Very sorry to see him go, but his record sort of speaks volumes. I wonder what Alonso is thinking…
Not expected ? Even given Luca’s recent comments about their performance and the racing, engines etc ? It seemed quite likely to me.
I read it as not a surprise with the poor start to the season, but unexpected in that there was no whisper of it happening, and as we know Joe keeps his ear to the ground
That’s a real shame. I always liked his candour in the TV interviews that I saw. Do you know if he will leave Ferrari or be relocated within the group?
Do you have any background on Mattiacci Joe?
Agreed. It was great to see a seemingly down to earth personality at Ferrari, cannot stand De Montezemolo.
Did he jump or was he pushed? Sad as Stefano comes over as one of the nicest men in the business – maybe too nice for his own good in the murky world of F1. Wilson
Wilson
Best comment I’ve seen so far on this.
Martin
Stefano and Martin Whitmarsh both seem good guys – but that doesn’t seem to cut it in the Piranha club
Oh guys, pushed – big time.
Just like 2007-08, Luca Di and Ron Dennis seem to operate in tandem. Whitmarsh leaves Woking, and Domenicali leaves Maranello.
lets see if these pawn sacrifices help the side win the game.
Come on, they have to be at least knights or bishops!
you’ve got to admire the timing. maybe trying to take a bit of limelight away from Red Bull’s appeal?
I read this as Domenicali just had enough of Montezemolo’s ranting and raving!
I wasn’t totally surprised as I had thought he would be chopped at the end of last year. I didn’t think he’d be around for 2015, after how things are currently going for the Scuderia. However, I think it is a shame and I don’t see it as being a help to the team. He has always come across as a decent guy, and dedicated, but not too partisan, although still very much a company man.
The problem at Ferrari isn’t the TP, it’s the car & engine. It looks very much that even if the engine was competitive, the chassis isn’t, and that is down to the design teams in those departments. Domenicalli doesn’t design things, he just operates the team, and his work requires him to push people to one goal, but he is not to know if the equipment is going to underperform. It’s not like the old days when there was one designer and usually one engine make, and you always knew that your Cossie was more or less as good as the next one, so the designer was the important guy, as it was his ideas that either worked or didn’t. So, I don’t think this was a smart move by Ferrari, and I can’t see their season being anything other than dire. Best to look to 2015 in all areas, from chassis to engine and write off this year completely.
The problem with shareholders is often that someone, often the person paid the most money, must be seen as accountable.
Unfortunately, in business, this means he/she is removed from the job and the process starts again from the ground up.
It will be interesting to know if he was pushed or left, by the fact it is unexpected would suggest left but who knows
We all have.
Or Monty felt that Domenicali did not rant and rave sufficiently… “Your continued lack of press conference statements on the terribleness of the new rules and the self-evident truth that the Scuderia should nonetheless be allowed to run three cars and another half-dozen customer cars is unacceptable. I want your resignation on my desk on Monday morning.”
It is unfornuate. Howe3ver, at the end of the day you need the package to win. Ferrari, has not gotten it done. Is it Stefano fault? Maybe, did he recruit the technical staff.
I was not a fan of SD but I’m sure it is not all his fault etc. Surely though Mr. Mattiacci, who has a sales and marketing background only is a stopgap? Since Flavio or Brawn are a no go I would think, how about Martin Whitmarch for the job. He would be nicely motivated to get one back on Ron.
Martin Whitmarsh is a nice guy as well.
And the team won absolutely nothing whilst at McLaren.
In fact, the team messed up Hamiltons chances of winning quite a number of races because of mistakes and bad calls, and he may even have won the title in his last year with them were it not for the team. The buck must stop with Whitmarsh in that respect
I’m not being harsh, just stating the backgrounds over which such decisions may be made.
Shame I liked him too. So the cars will go faster now will they? I don’t think so. Montezemolo is the one who should take one for the team, I mean he cant even be bothered to watch his team till the end of the race! I am also finding Ferrari very arrogant and annoying at the moment, god knows how Alonso must be feeling? I bet Massa hasn’t stopped laughing since the first test having relised he made a good escape from Ferrari.
‘Very arrogant and annoying at the moment’ .. They’ve ALWAYS been arrogant, at the very least, imo anyway 🙂 That’s why I liked Domenicali so much, he was a refreshing change.
Really not a shock? I like Stefano but 6 years with the biggest budget, best driver and no trophy not a surprise? I’ve been waiting for this for a while. If F1 can get rid of someone as successful as Brawn then poor Dom was on borrowed time…
I admire a leader who takes responsibility for his underlings performance. There have been some missed opportunities under Dominecali that could have resulted in championships (Massa’s 2008 refueling blunder, Alonso’s strategy call in Abu Dhabi). Ferrari have also produced some really poor cars on his watch.
I like Dominecali, he strikes me as an honest, sincere guy. Working under Monte has got to be stressful when your winning, let alone when they are 4th or 5th fastest. I bet Dominecali wakes up tomorrow feeling relaxed for the first time in years.
Sad news… Stefano had hired most of the senior management so I don’t think they will feel comfortable now. There is too much internal pressure on this team I have the feeling the non-competitiveness of Ferrari lies with the president as he doesn’t give them enough room to breathe as we say in french. I was upset last year with LdM offering the staff knives to put between their teeth… Did he seriously thought they were not already giving everything they could? Something is rotten in the state of Maranello…. Sadly…
…and getting rid of the result instead of the cause is hardly going to help.
We say “not enough room to breathe” in English too, just so you know. Same idiom. 🙂
Cosmetic at best. Problems run much deeper than Team Principal.
I admit I had to check it was not April 1st. One has to imagine that this is a temporary solution as Marco Mattiacci is a sales and marketing guy. Hardly the skill set to lead a modern F1 team. Sure he might know about leadership, but he also needs to be able to make the calls on engineering and lead from the front in that area. He is out of his depth. Until Ferrari recognize the need for better leadership then they are doomed to be back markers. One thing that Todt had was grand skills in team leadership. That allowed Brawn to get on with his job. They need to think along those lines again.
Dominicali seemed like a thoroughly decent chap. I didn’t envy him having to work under LDM.
It always appeared to me that the job (with LDM constantly peering over ones shoulder) is something of a ‘poison chalice’ …
Joe – perhaps Stefano could give you his China visa?
I have one, thank you
“Joe – perhaps Stefano could give you his China visa?”
“I have one, thank you”
That was quick. You were still having to go through the various machinations the last word you gave us. Has this been done in record time?
No, it took a lot of effort and four visits but as I said at the time people don’t want to hear complaints
Joe, I like your views on the mechanics and intricacies of working as an F1 journalist. As a boring attorney working in a boring office 5 days a week in the same city 50 weeks a year, its a great fantasy indulgence to follow you along on your exciting life jetting around to give us the in-person coverage (including the pimples and bumps). In fact, I’m often the most interested as a practically minded person (as most attorneys are) in the details you provide including the complaints because it gives the an actual honest view rather than pure gloss. The bruising you receive along the way only makes the fantasy complete and realistic. I still would have your job over mine any day, warts and all. Thanks as always for sharing, a daily reader and GP+ subscriber.
Me too, it’s fascinating, I love the travel details too, i’ve always wondered what the travel side of working in F1 is like, two of my favourite things, travel and motorsport.
BBB: Me too, the same office in a quite Buckinghamshire village, 4 days a week, Joe’s travel stories are escapism 🙂
I wonder if they gave Stefano a fine meal and family assurance before he opened his veins.
Stefano is a decent, honest and very capable professional, but I was expecting this for a few days…For me it wasn’t a surprise.
So Joe, a lot of the comments mention Stefano as being a nice and honest guy. In your history of F1, would you say that the sport doesn’t favor nice honest guys, or has there been some who have succeeded? It seems that the more slick and devious personalities have achieved greater results. Looking for your view.
In my experience dysfunctional weirdos tend to be more successful that good honest individuals.
Mmmmm……So that’s why many of my formula1 pals are talking about Briatore’s chance to come back…
There is no chance of Flavio Briatore coming back
Is he even allowed to hold a position in F1 after Singapore?
Sadly, Joe, your comment can be applied to most walks of life. As an honest, semi-functioning human being, I can only hope there truly is something called “karma”.
Karma is action & reaction, I think you mean Dharma 😉
I feel a Ron Dennis / Martin Whitmarsh comment coming on.
Allegedly.
I wonder with whom Fernando’s management team are talking right now… he must be looking for an early exit!!!
Hello Joe!
You are mistaken above. Last time Ferrari took the World
Constructor Championship was 2008, not 2007!
Chhers!
That Domenicali, who epitomises the Ferrari ethos, has to fall on his sword because they didn’t design and build the best engine and car, is just wrong.
Uh? I would say that Stefano represents anything but the Ferrari ethos. Not Machiavellian, not duplicitous or scheming. Just decent and loyal.
With Mattiacci spectacular CV, I would say he is being groomed to replaced LdM as Ferrari president. Regional President Asia-Pac -> Regional President US -> Running the F1 team -> Ferrari President?
Looks like a good bet, doesnt it?
Think Agnelli…
Maybe Domenicali got to hear about Bell’s arrival next season?
(Never let the facts get in the way of a good story… 😉 ).
About time! I can’t believe he lasted the last four seasons!
He didn’t. It was longer
Right, I gave him two years to get it sorted, but then with a perpetual dog of a car, and the terrible mismanagement of Kimi and Felipe – Ugh, it was not pretty.
I can’t see Ross Brawn swapping a blissful retirement spent fishing and counting his millions to work for the count of Montezemolo. I think he’d spend more time considering an offer from Marussia before turning that down too. Now if Monte wasn’t there………..
John Elkann for LdM?
Joe, if I may inquire, had you any inkling this was coming?
No, I heard Luca was for the chop…
Well Mattiacci is much more Luca’s level than Stefano’s so it may be a short term position before he is elevated to the Agnelli heavens. Elsewhere it is written that Stefano’s plunge on to his own sword was entirely self propelled and that Luca tried to talk him out of it. Maybe the timing was not right but then it does not factor in Andrea, so it does not make much sense.
Maybe that is true and SD decided that if he was going to jump ship he had to do it before. Doing it after would seem disloyal. However this way he’s couched it in terms of doing the honorable thing.
Ferrari kept Massa on longer than they should have, so its good that they developed a backbone and got ruthless. You can’t keep people on just because they are nice when they aren’t delivering. And there may be more to come as things get shaken up. I’d say Stefano’s development plan post Bahrain wasn’t up to snuff which accelerated things. (On a personal level, Stefano has been looking terrible at the last few races and stepping away from this may be the best thing to happen to him).
They didn’t keep Massa for that reason. Ferrari definitely not a charity team.
They kept Massa because they felt there wasn’t a better man for the job (whether you agree or not). They wanted someone who could push Alonso, but not dethrone him. They approached Webber, who eventually decided to stay with Red Bull, but if he would’ve said yes, Massa would’ve been out.
Perhaps Domenicali was just too nice for the job. I also wonder who makes the decisions at Ferrari. Is it the team boss, or Luca? He must have a big say in things…
*Ferrari is definitely not a charity team
Enter Ross Brawn stage left!
As Joe say it was LD who is lined up for the chop and he has acted first by sacrificing SD which will give him a short stay of execution, but only short. No one wins in F1 without being totally ruthless and the best ones are so good at it you don’t even see it., (why Senna was so much better than Schumacher) LD removing SD is somewhat Machiavellian, or so he thinks but it won’t save him and he will be gone by the year end. Marco Mattiacci has been successful wherever he has worked and it may take him 6 to 12 months to figure things out in F1 but don’t expect him to be temporary, he is a successful leader like Jean Todt, Ron Dennis, Frank Williams and Christian Horner………there is not one of them I’d have round for dinner but Stefanno you are welcome any time!
“a successful leader like Christian Horner”
Christian Horner isn’t fit to run a whelk stall.
I wasn’t aware that Christian Horner ran anything, or ever has (at least not at Red Bull).
Am I mistaken?
Perhaps he should go fishing with Martin?
Anyway both teams may move forward again.
Wouldn’t surprise me if Bernie has bought up a remote tropical paradise somewhere, with large gardens which need tending by people on 6 month placements; and with a large and popular fishing area, all of which which can be rented at competitive rates all year round…
JOe – one of the things I find most interesting about your blog (and GP+) is the detail you provide about the characters in the garage and the factory. I hope that as part of this saga, that you provide some sort of “obituary” of Stefano’s career at Ferrari.
LdM’s least favorite joke:
An Englishman, an Irishman, a Frenchman and a German walk into an Italian bar…………………………
So when will Ferrari start replacing the drivers?
Who with? And also, maybe the drivers would actually prefer to be elsewhere, but there are no winning options at present. Even if you drive a Merc powered car, unless it is the factory car, you are not going to win. Place 3rd 4th etc, but win, no. So there is no point Ferdy or Kimi leaving, they’d just as well keep taking the Euros. And there’s no point Ferrari looking for other drivers, as the other drivers could not win in a Ferrari with a rubbish engine and rubbish chassis…simples!q
Huh? Replace the only thing with the car that works? (ok, slightly generous to Kimi’s current form, that). In fact, there’s a perfectly good late night drunken discussion to be had on this that if Alonso wasn’t so good and dragged cars to race finishes where they didn’t have a right to be, then all of this would have happened much sooner. Lucky Ferrari that there is nowhere for him to go.