Ferrari to axe Domenicali (2nd Update)
In a statement, president Luca di Montezemolo thanked the 48-year-old not only for his long "contribution and commitment", but for the "great responsibility" displayed by stepping down amid Ferrari's early-season crisis.
Domenicali confirmed that Domenicali's successor is Marco Mattiacci, "a manager who knows the value of the company. He has enthusiastically accepted this challenge."
Domenicali, who said on Monday he had the "courage to take difficult and very agonizing decisions", joined Ferrari in 1991.
"It is time for a significant change," he explained. "As the boss, I take responsibility, as I have always done, for our current situation.
"I hope that very soon, Ferrari will be back where it deserves to be."
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| Since Domenicali took over the Ferrari F1 team they hardly ever win races and have not come close to securing a title. Rumor is that he will soon get the axe. |
04/14/14 (GMM) Team boss Stefano Domenicali has quit Ferrari, multiple media sources are reporting on Monday.
Last Friday, furious at the fabled Italian team's early-season struggle, president Luca di Montezemolo flagged a looming change at the top, insisting he would "make the decisions that we need to take".
Now, respected Autosprint correspondent Alberto Antonini claims Domenicali has quit, and will be replaced by Marco Mattiacci.
Until now, Mattiacci has been the chief executive of Ferrari North America.
Antonini explained that Domenicali, realizing his exit was necessary given Ferrari's 2014 predicament, will not travel to China for this weekend's grand prix.
"He seems to have willingly accepted the situation," said the correspondent.
"It was a personal decision, taken after much thought at the end of last week, to offer to Maranello and the fans a way to relieve the negative pressure and criticism," added Antonini.
04/13/14 Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has never shied away from uttering statements suggesting that an axe is about to fall at Maranello, and his latest claim could be seen as signaling the end for current team principal Stefano Domenicali.
With the Scuderia struggling to match the pace of any of the Mercedes-powered cars over the first three races of the 2014 F1 campaign, Montezemolo's frustration appeared to reach new heights during the opening of a new wing of the Ferrari museum in Maranello. Insisting that he would not avoid taking drastic action in order to turn the team's fortunes around, the Italian's comments have been taken as a threat to Domenicali's tenure at the head of operations.
"I already know what you want to ask," Montezemolo was quoted as telling journalists, “I would say to you that I will leave no stone unturned to get to where we need to be. We'll work day and night to improve, and we'll take the decisions that we need to take."
Heading into next weekend's Chinese Grand Prix, Ferrari trails Mercedes – which has won each of the three races to date – by 78 points, and currently languishes in fifth place in the constructors' championship, sandwiched between Red Bull and Williams. Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen finished only ninth and tenth in last weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix, and the team has not won a race since Alonso's success on home soil in last year's Spanish GP. Its last world title came when it won the constructors' crown in 2008. crash.net