Leo Turrini believes Ferrari could have followed a very different path after Sergio Marchionne’s death in 2018 had the company’s shareholders brought Stefano Domenicali back to Maranello. The veteran Italian motorsport journalist pointed to Domenicali’s previous record at Ferrari, arguing that the former team principal’s return as president and CEO would, in his view, have produced significantly better results.
Stefano Domenicali is now president and chief executive officer of Formula 1 and regularly speaks about the championship’s growth, the spectacle on track and what he sees as a particularly successful period in terms of sponsors and audiences. His comments frequently generate debate among fans and insiders, particularly when discussions about Formula 1’s modern direction create a divide between traditionalists and those more open to change. His prominent role continues to put him at the centre of major decisions, including plans for the 2027 Formula 1 calendar.
Among Ferrari supporters, there are also those who feel Stefano Domenicali has changed considerably compared with the man who spent so many years working at Maranello.
Leo Turrini reflects on Stefano Domenicali’s Ferrari record
Leo Turrini addressed Stefano Domenicali and his position at the top of Formula 1 while answering readers’ questions on his Profondo Rosso blog for Quotidiano.net. During the wider discussion, the Italian journalist offered a particularly striking assessment of Domenicali’s time at Ferrari and what might have happened had he eventually returned.
“As Ferrari sporting director, Dom contributed to the Prancing Horse’s golden era. As Maranello team principal, he is the last person to have won a World Championship (the 2008 Constructors’ title) and to have fought for three Drivers’ Championships (2008, 2010, 2012) until the final round of the season. He lost them by seven points in total, if I remember correctly,” Leo Turrini wrote.
Stefano Domenicali became Ferrari team principal in 2008 and remained in charge until 2014. His first season at the helm delivered what remains Ferrari’s most recent Constructors’ Championship, while Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso and the team subsequently came agonisingly close to adding further Drivers’ titles. Domenicali has himself previously discussed the unique difficulties of leading Ferrari and handling the enormous expectations surrounding the Maranello team.
Turrini compares Domenicali with Ferrari’s later team principals
Leo Turrini then contrasted that period with what followed at Ferrari, highlighting the fact that no Scuderia driver has gone into the final Grand Prix of a season still fighting for the Drivers’ Championship since Fernando Alonso in 2012.
“But a generation has passed since then and there has no longer been a Ferrari driver fighting for the World Championship until the final Grand Prix. Obviously, on that subject, the fans of Vasseur — and before him Binotto and Arrivabene — remain silent,” he added.
Since Stefano Domenicali’s departure, Ferrari’s Formula 1 operation has been led by Marco Mattiacci, Maurizio Arrivabene, Mattia Binotto and now Fred Vasseur. The continuing title drought has inevitably kept questions over Ferrari’s management structure alive, while Domenicali has also recently offered his own view on what Ferrari still needs in order to mount a successful championship challenge.
Why Turrini believes Ferrari should have recalled Domenicali in 2018
Leo Turrini’s strongest claim concerned the period immediately following Sergio Marchionne’s death in July 2018. The journalist believes Ferrari’s shareholders should have turned back to Stefano Domenicali and installed him at the top of the company.
“I’ll add that if, after Marchionne’s death in 2018, the shareholders had recalled Stefano as president and CEO at Maranello, things, in my opinion, would have gone decidedly better,” Leo Turrini concluded.
It remains a hypothetical assessment, but one rooted in Stefano Domenicali’s lengthy history with Ferrari and the results achieved while he held senior responsibilities at Maranello. More than a decade after he left the Formula 1 team, his tenure remains the last under which Ferrari won a Constructors’ Championship and took a Drivers’ Championship battle all the way to the final race of the season.
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