F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali tells his story and the state of Formula One in his own words…
I was born in the home of racing in Italy, Imola. Every weekend there was some racing event happening with up to 100,000 people visiting for the big events. Around the town everyone worked to support the racing, whether selling food or giving spectators lifts on the back of scooters.
I was first introduced to the Formula One world at the age of 14 where I used to volunteer checking the paddock passes.
The platform of Formula One was hugely beneficial to a place like Imola, as it allowed for the city to be known around the world. We also saw the same thing happen here in the Middle East, first with Bahrain, then with Abu Dhabi, and now hopefully with Jeddah.
Formula One represents something that is really massive. It is something that can cut through cultures on a global level and bring people together across a common interest.
When I finished university in Bologna, I sent my CV to many different companies around the region, and I was lucky enough to be given a role at Ferrari. That connected my professional life with the passion I had always had for racing as a child.
I worked for Ferrari for 23 years before I moved to be CEO of Lamborghini. I was at a place where I had to decide in what best way could I use all this experience to help the automotive community, and where could I take on a bigger responsibility.
Last year I had a call from Chase Carey and Greg Maffei (President & Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Media Corporation, who own Formula One) and they presented me the opportunity to run Formula One. I told my family, the train is coming and it is only going to stop once – if we want to get on it, we have to go now.
“The attention on environmental values is absolutely correct, but is that the only answer that we should give the world of automotive? I don’t think so.”
Stefano Domenicali
Running Formula One is an incredibly fast-paced and incredibly interesting job – but it’s lucky that speed has always been part of my life.
I’ve always enjoyed responsibility. I think it is correct to take responsibility, and be straightforward to yourself and the people that are around you. I believe that the more time you spend in a position of responsibility, the more natural it becomes.
I am not in the ego-trip business. I don’t care about being the hero. In our sport the drivers are the heroes, not the organisers.
My role is to ensure that Formula One remains relevant. To ensure that we are always on top of the wave that is shaping the future. The world is so quickly evolving in terms of tastes, economic environments, core values and we need learn a new language to the one the industry is used to using. We need to understand the differences between regions and countries with regards to the tastes and needs of the people.
Disputes are part of the game, but because of the global importance of the business, they are also part of the beauty of the business we are in.
The current health of Formula One is very good. The amount of media attention it is getting is growing with younger audiences, and the number of new cities applying to host events is constant.
The Netflix show, Drive To Survive, was huge for us in terms of appealing to a younger audience. The show offered different narratives to people who were not keen on the details of the sport itself. It told the drama on a human level, rather than focusing on the sporting side of things.
The show is a great ‘cut’ of who Formula One is, but told from a different perspective. It gave us a huge opportunity to look at how what we present can appeal to so many different people if handled in the right, or different, way.
In terms of the transition to fully electric you have to be realistic. Pretending that the entire industry needs to be fully electric in such a short time is to believe that you are getting younger when you’re getting older. It’s not realistic.
The attention on environmental values is absolutely correct, but is that the only answer that we should give the world of automotive? I don’t think so. We believe that the answer is that Formula One should continue to be hybrid – in fact, we introduced hybrid engines as long ago as 2014, and now we run the most efficient engine in the racing world.
Sustainable fuel is the next challenge that we want to bring in completely in our world. I believe that the combination of hybrid engines and sustainable fueling will be a much more effective than other options [electric vehicles].
“I really hope that there will be a female driver in Formula One sooner rather than later. I don’t see it happening in the next five years, but we are putting in the foundations to ensure this could happen.”
Stefano Domenicali
The first Grand Prix in Jeddah will be an incredible event. All the events in the Middle East have constantly shown their commitment to hosting the Formula One community in their own way, and also to show the worldwide audience who they are as a culture.
Sport is something unique, and it is an incredible facilitator in cultural change – and Saudi wants to prove that they are taking positive steps with regards to changing its future.
Motorsports in the Middle East is, and will continue to, represent a very important element of the development and expansion of motorsport in the future.
Things change so quickly today, that I’m not sure that it is reasonable to plan things ten years into the future. Rather than a plan, you need to have a vision for the future – which it allows for adjustment.
Formula One could be the protagonist of change in areas in which we believe is right to do – such as technological development. In the next five years we will see a significant amount of new initiatives that will prepare Formula One for the next step of growth.
I really hope that there will be a female driver in Formula One sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, I don’t see it as a possibility in the next five years, but I really hope that in the next ten years this could happen, and we are putting in the foundations to ensure this could happen.
I have a very good and open relationship with the drivers. Because I worked for the Ferrari team [as Team Principal from 2008 to 2014] I understand the viewpoints of the drivers, I understand that they all have a desire to race but they all have different personalities. I have always said that the drivers are the centre of our project because they are the heroes, and their voice is very important.