Stefano Domenicali has worked with many drivers and some world champions at Ferrari. The current CEO of F1 detailed the reason that made Michael Schumacher the Scuderia's best defender and its greatest ambassador, before Ferrari soon welcomes another great world champion, Lewis Hamilton, “an extraordinary opportunity” according to him.
“There was never an occasion where he blamed the team” Domenicali said.
“It was a feeling of extraordinary strength that characterized him. I met a lot of pilots, but Michael, from that point of view, was extraordinary.”
The Italian praises Ferrari's ability to attract the best drivers, with Lewis Hamilton as the latest example: “Ferrari will soon have Hamilton and I had the chance to work with Fernando Alonso, who shows that age is not a limit. And Kimi Räikkönen, even if he seemed very cold, had extraordinary sensitivity.”
According to him, the challenge for the Scuderia will be to place limits in the fight between Hamilton and Charles Leclerc: “As a Ferrari enthusiast, this is an extraordinary opportunity because Lewis wants to centralize things.”
“He wants to bring back his eighth title and become the best of all time. With Charles, we will need respect but it is clear that when we lower the visor… In any case, the rules of the team and the management must be clear.”
“I want to see different faces” in F1
Asked about the massive arrival of rookies in Formula 1 next year, the boss of the premier category welcomed it: “Young drivers? There are a lot of them and what I like is that everyone has their own personality.”
“We are in a happy phase, the drivers are not a problem. The contribution of young people is fundamental for us, what F1 must do is get out of its self-referentiality. I want to see different faces and professionalism .”
Domenicali then answered the question of what makes a driver the strongest on the grid. His answer started with self-confidence as his main quality: “He must first believe that he is the strongest of all.”
“Then he has to have the ability to stop every frame of his performance and maximize it, as well as integrate with the mechanics and the team. Then you have to lower the visor and be ruthless. Because if you think two tenths apart, you're talking about nothing. Attention to detail is fundamental.”
The two people who “gave value” to Ferrari
Looking back on his personal history at Ferrari, Domenicali praised what he learned from former director Jean Todt and former president Luca di Montezemolo: “Two people who gave value to me, but above all to Ferrari. Montezemolo gave new life to a somewhat lost company.”
“He gave consistency to the values and the figures speak for themselves. As for Todt, I spent more time with him than with my wife. I learned a very meticulous and precise way of working and he made trust in the people around him a mantra.”
And to remember why the decision to leave Ferrari was difficult but obvious: “It was difficult because after 23 years there is the danger of thinking there are no other options. But I had peace of mind that things had not gone well and it was just a matter of taking responsibility and stepping aside.”
“It was like a funnel, then comes the drop that makes you take the right direction and face the choices with serenity. I remember the affection of the entire company since the day I announced my departure. I I left with the awareness of having accomplished an important journey, even if I did not know what would happen the next day.”
