As both a former Ferrari team principal and the current chief executive of Formula 1, Stefano Domenicali has a vested interest in the Scuderia finding some success
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Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were both winless across 24 Grands Prix in 2025(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Formula 1 chief Stefano Domenicali wants Lewis Hamilton to find his groove again as “a strong Ferrari” will be good for the sport. The Italian CEO of F1, who is also a former Ferrari team principal, is responsible for the financial success of the sport and, as its most historic and recognisable team, success on track for the Scuderia could help on that front.
But the improvements need to be both swift and significant. Currently led by team principal Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari failed to win a single Grand Prix in the whole of the 2025 season, their single slice of victory coming very early in the year last March when Hamilton marked his first Sprint race in red with a win in Shanghai.
That joy was swept away just 24 hours later when a ride height blunder saw both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix. And that set the tone for the rest of the year, throughout which the seven-time F1 champion failed to stand on a single podium for the first time in his career.
New engine and aerodynamic design rules coming into force for the upcoming 2026 campaign provide Ferrari with a fresh start and the chance to finally end their long title drought. Their last constructors’ championship win was in 2008, when Domenicali was in charge.
Now chief executive of F1, the Italian said he is upbeat about his old team’s chances of using the reset to get back to winning ways – but warned that they will need to figure out a strategy of how to break the cycle of disappointing results. He told Sky Sports News: “I’m a positive guy. There’s no need to cry, there’s no need to always be negative.
“[But] they need to have a plan. I’m sure Fred, Lewis and Charles have a plan and that’s what is important. I think it’s important to react, not to fade away and for it to be normal to be fourth in the championship. We want to have strong Ferrari. They deserve to be in a stronger position.
“They need to make sure that there is the right energy and the right thing to follow up because, in 2026, everyone is talking, but no one knows where they are. If you saw what happened last year everyone was already knowing what was happening in the future, stay tuned because every race there will be an evolution.”
Leclerc was at least able to reach the podium seven times, and finished one place above Hamilton in the drivers’ standings though 86 points better off. The latter turned 41 last week and, if given a race-winning car this time around, will need to prove that he has not yet lost any speed with age.
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Stefano Domenicali believes ‘a strong Ferrari’ will be good for Formula 1(Image: AP)
Hamilton has been largely quiet over the winter break, following through on his pledge to switch off after a difficult first year as a Ferrari driver. But in a birthday Instagram message he made it clear he plans to try a different approach as he vowed: “The time for change is now.
“Starting new routines, leaving behind unwanted patterns and working on growth. Let go of things that don’t serve you. This can take time, there will be things you can’t get rid of immediately, but it starts with the first step.”