Domenicali’s message to Ferrari: stop the gloom, bring a plan — and turn up with energy for 2026
Stefano Domenicali knows exactly what a restless Ferrari looks and feels like. He led Maranello through its last title win in 2008; today, from the other side of the fence as Formula 1’s president and CEO, he’s urging the Scuderia to quit the handwringing and attack the 2026 reset with purpose.
“There’s no need to cry. There’s no need to always be negative,” Domenicali told Sky Sports F1. “They need to have a plan. I’m sure that Fred [Vasseur] and Lewis and Charles [Leclerc] have a plan. I think it’s important to react, not to fade away.”
Ferrari heads into the winter with a winless 2025 on the books and the noise dialled up by Lewis Hamilton’s bruising first year in red. Hamilton’s frustration flashed in public more than once — he even called it his “worst season ever” — and for a team that expected to fight for championships, fourth in the standings won’t have landed softly.
That, says Domenicali, is exactly why the tone matters now. “We want a strong Ferrari, and they deserve to be in a stronger position,” he said. “Make sure there is the right energy to follow up.”
Energy, yes, but also clarity. The 2026 regulations are a hard reset: new power units with a bigger electrical component, lighter cars with markedly different aero, and an all-round shake-up that will demand different compromises up and down the grid. Everyone is talking a big game, Domenicali noted, but “nobody knows where we are.” Expect evolution at every round, in other words — and the teams that iterate fastest will set the agenda.
There’s an opportunity in that uncertainty, and Ferrari can’t afford to watch it pass by. Vasseur has earned high marks for culture change and quicker decision-making at Maranello; now comes the test of converting that into a coherent 2026 philosophy that suits Hamilton and Leclerc, not just on paper but in the messy, real-world trade-offs that define modern F1.
The Ferrari president of old won’t say it outright, but the subtext is loud: plan the car, plan the processes, plan the politics — and above all, plan the reaction. Because 2026 won’t be won on a launch stage. It’ll be won in six-week upgrade cycles and on Sundays where a bold call flips a tough afternoon. That’s where a team’s “energy” shows.
As for the man with the No. 1 on his car next year, Domenicali likes what he sees. Lando Norris enters 2026 as the defending World Champion and, in the F1 boss’s view, a compelling standard-bearer for a younger, wider audience. “Very positive. Younger, energetic, with his personality that is different from the others,” he said, adding one piece of advice he says he’s repeated to Norris: “Keep smiling. You need to have positive energy… they are role models for a lot of people.”
Ferrari will hope Hamilton rediscovers his own spark after a season that rarely flowed, and that Leclerc’s peaks become a weekly habit rather than an occasional reminder of what’s in the vault. Both drivers know exactly what’s at stake: a fresh rules cycle is when empires are built — and when reputations are rebuilt.
For all the angst around Maranello, Domenicali’s message is simple and, frankly, timely. This is not the moment to wallow. It’s the moment to line up behind a clear concept, commit to it, and meet the chaos of 2026 with the confidence of a team that expects to be in the fight.
Ferrari’s last title arrived with Domenicali on the pit wall. The next one won’t be influenced by him from the F1 Tower, but his nudge is unmistakable: stop staring at the scar tissue from 2025 and start swinging. There’s a reset coming. Bring a plan and the right energy — or watch someone else define the era.
