How Did Formula 1’s Chief Reach Las Vegas? Stefano Domenicali Traveled In Fast Lane To Motor Racing Group’s Lofty Perch
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By Randy Cannon, LVSportsBiz.com F1 Racing Writer
When Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali took the stage at The Cosmopolitan in March to announce the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix, he had been on the job for a little more than a year.
The 57-year-old Domenicali, though, brings more than three decades of experience in the automotive industry and Formula 1 to the new Las Vegas race that is scheduled for Nov. 18 with several days of grand prix activities leading up to the Saturday night 3.8-mile circuit race that includes a healthy chunk of the Strip.
The F1 motor racing organization is such a hot property that several news reports detailed a Saudi Arabian investment fund’s attempt to buy Formula 1 for a stunning $20 billion after Liberty Media Corp. purchased F1 for $4.4 billion in 2017. F1 said no thanks to the Saudis.
Formula 1 has European roots that have grown to races in Miami, Austin and now Las Vegas for the foreseeable future starting in November.
Graduating with a degree in business administration from the University of Bologna, Italy in 1991, a then 26-year-old Domenicali immediately joined Ferrari, working in the upscale car company’s finance department.
Thirteen years later, Domenicali had ascended to the position of Sporting Director for the Scuderia Ferrari, the vaunted Formula 1 team of the prestigious marque.
Long renowned for their luxury high-performance road vehicles, Ferrari has also been a stalwart of Formula 1 competition since the earliest days of the series.
With that type of resume, Domenicali told a Las Vegas Chamber business preview audience only a week ago that F1 racing was in his blood.
Despite the recent title successes of the Mercedes team led by Lewis Hamilton and the Red Bull team led by Max Verstappen, Ferrari still holds the series records for the most Formula 1 drivers’ championships (16) and constructors’ championships (15).
They are records in which Domenicali certainly made his contribution to the “Prancing Horse” brigade of the Ferrari Formula 1 racing team.
In 2008, Domenicali was promoted to Team Principal of the Ferrari Formula 1 efforts where he remained until 2014,
Domenicali shepherded the Ferrari racing careers of such luminary drivers as the brilliant Michael Schumacher, Kimi Räikkönen, Felipe Massa, and Fernando Alonso.
Teams led by Domenicali would also accrue a total of 14 drivers’ and constructors’ championships.
“Stefano thinks big and is always open to new and innovative ideas. Those qualities and that style make Stefano a great fit for Las Vegas and are a big part of why this race will be the world’s most spectacular event in 2023.” — LVCVA CEO Steve Hill
Leaving Ferrari at the end of the 2014 season, Domenicali then served a vice presidency at Audi AG before moving to the Lamborghini brand as Chairman and CEO under the Audi umbrella.
From the helm of Lamborghini, Domenicali then observed a sea change in the sport of Formula 1.
In late 2016, American communication and sports conglomerate Liberty Media acquired a minority stake and operational control of Formula 1.
Bernie Ecclestone, the iron-fisted ruler of the sport for over four decades, was deposed while Chase Carey, the long-time Murdoch/News Corp./Fox executive, would take the reins of Formula 1 for Liberty.
A short three years later, as Chase Carey moved to a non-executive role in Formula 1, Domenicali found his career star further on the rise.
In September of 2020, Domenicali was announced by Liberty President and CEO Greg Maffei as the next chief executive of the sport, a role he would assume in January of 2021.
“Stefano brings a rich history of success in F1 at Ferrari and the broader auto industry at Audi and Lamborghini,” Maffei said in the announcement.
Success, indeed, as Domenicali was one of the most prolific team executives in the history of the sport.
“I am thrilled to join the Formula 1 organization, a sport that has always been part of my life,” Domenicali offered on his appointment.
“I look forward to connecting with the teams, promoters, sponsors, and many partners in Formula 1 as we continue to drive the business ahead. The past six years at Audi and then leading Lamborghini have given me broader perspective and experience that I will bring to Formula 1.”
Driving the business of Formula 1 forward would include the significant challenges of diversity in the male-dominated work force and driver corps.
It would also include efforts in sustainability in a sport marked by wealthy consumerism and boundless energy consumption.
Most daunting, perhaps was that Domenicali would be tasked with the politics of inclusion and tolerance as the sport grew its influence among the oil-state Islamic monarchies of the Middle East, notably with the emergence of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
In March 2022 Stefano Domenicali, Maffei, and LVCVA President Steve Hill then shocked the world of motorsport, returning Formula 1 to Las Vegas for the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The lavish presser from the pool deck of The Cosmopolitan heralded the first such engagement in Las Vegas since the 1981 and 1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix events contested over then-vacant land between the Caesars Forum Tower and the long-gone Castaways Hotel-Casino.
With his 2022 appearance at The Cosmopolitan and his keynote at the recent Vegas Chamber 2023 Preview, Domenicali has already cemented his position in the Las Vegas sporting and business landscape.
