Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali - Photo: Race Pictures

Domenicali speaks out on his 'most difficult decision made'

11:04, 12 Oct

Updated: 12:09, 12 Oct

byOlly Darcy

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali revealed that his "most difficult decision" professionally was when the he resigned from Ferrari in 2014.

"Ferrari represented 23 years of my life, where I did everything, where I won, lost, and I grew up as a man."

- Stefano Domenicali on his time at Ferrari

Domenicali first moved the the Scuderia in 1995, becoming head of personnel in their sporting department, before working his way up to the role of Director, replacing Jean Todt as team principal in 2008.

In his first year as team principal, Ferrari went on to win the constructors' championship, before just missing out on the drivers' and constructors' titles in 2012 by finishing P2 in both standings.

However, a poor year for the Prancing Horse in 2014 saw Domenicali resign in April 2014, who went on to be hired by Audi in October 2014.

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem - Photo: Race Pictures

"Professionally speaking, the most difficult and perhaps strange to say, but also the easiest, was when I resigned from Ferrari in 2014," Domenicali explained on the BSMT on the Map podcast.

"It was the right time to do it for many reasons, because when you have certain responsibilities, you have to take them, even if you can find other contexts that can justify different choices. So this was the most difficult and easiest moment.

"After 23 years, I finished my studies at the university. For me, Ferrari represented 23 years of my life, where I did everything, where I won, lost, and I grew up as a man, so it wasn't trivial.

Domenicali looking to make changes?

Now, as F1's CEO in January 2021, Domenicali has been shaping the sport, and there has been talk from the Italian about potentially shortening F1 races in the future.

After initial rejection from many, the 60-year-old then commented about the proposal, saying, "Things are going very well today, but precisely because of that, we shouldn’t rest on our laurels; we need to think about the next step forward.”

Many drivers had their say on the matter, with Charles Leclerc unimpressed by the thought, saying that shorter races are "really not something that I see should be part of Formula 1's DNA."

GPblog's latest F1 Paddock Update

Want to stay up-to-date with what happens in the F1 paddock? Then GPblog's F1 Paddock Update video is the perfect way to do it. Subscribe to GPblog's YouTube channel and turn on notifications to never miss the latest episodes.