Stefano Domenicalli steps down as Ferrari F1 Team Principal

Team OD Published: April 15, 2014, 02:57 PM IST

Stefano Domenicalli has stepped down as Team Prinicipal of Ferrari Formula One team after being with the organization for 23 years. He has resigned with immediate effect and is replaced by Marco Mattiacci who was the president of Ferrari North America.

domenicaliStefano Domenicalli

Stefano joined Ferrari way back in 1991 and was subsequently promoted to the post of sporting director in 2003. In 2008, he was appointed as the Team Principal of the company's Formula One team. He tasted success in his first year with Ferrari winning the constructors championship but the team since then has not achieved a driver's championship under his tenure with the last championship being procured by Raikkonen in 2007. For quite some time now Domenicalli was under mounting pressure from Ferrari president, Luca di Montezemolo, who is unhappy with the performance of the team and its disappointing no-win streak.

mattiacciMarco Mattiacci

The outgoing Team Principal had this to say, "There are special moments that come along in everyone's professional life, when one needs courage to take difficult and very agonising decisions, it is time for a significant change. As the boss, I take responsibility, as I have always done, for our current situation. This decision has been taken with the aim of doing something to shake things up and for the good of this group of people that I feel very close to."

Luca di Montezemolo made this statement after accepting the resignation,"I thank Stefano Domenicali, not only for his constant dedication and effort, but also for the great sense of responsibility he has shown, even today, in always putting the interests of Ferrari above all else. I hold Domenicali in esteem and I have watched him grow professionally over the twenty three years we have worked together, I now wish him every success for the future.

Stefano Domenicali resigns as Director of the Gestione Sportiva


Maranello, 14 April – Stefano Domenicali has decided to resign from his position as Director of the Gestione Sportiva. "There are special moments that come along in everyone's professional life, when one needs courage to take difficult and very agonising decisions," said Domenicali. "It is time for a significant change. As the boss, I take responsibility, as I have always done, for our current situation. This decision has been taken with the aim of doing something to shake things up and for the good of this group of people that I feel very close to. With all my heart, I thank all the men and women in the team, the drivers and the partners for the wonderful relationship we have enjoyed over all these years. I hope that very soon, Ferrari will be back where it deserves to be. My final words of thanks go to our President, for having always supported me and to all our fans. I only regret that we have been unable to harvest what we worked so hard to sow in recent years."