Ferrari needs a plan as former boss warns against negativity

Stefano Domenicali, the former Ferrari team principal and current Formula 1 president, says the Scuderia “need to have a plan” for F1 2026, and he is sure it has one.

Urging Ferrari that there is “no need to always be negative”, Domenicali explained that Ferrari needs to have the “right energy” coming into F1 2026, a season of major opportunity, having suffered a winless 2025 season, while the struggles of marquee signing Lewis Hamilton were another point of frustration.

Stefano Domenicali to Ferrari: ‘Important to react’

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Ferrari had hoped to challenge for both titles in 2025, having pushed McLaren to a Constructors’ title decider in Abu Dhabi the year prior. The signing of seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton was another shot of momentum.

Instead, Ferrari was restricted to fourth in the 2025 standings, while Hamilton failed to score a podium, with frustrated outbursts like telling Ferrari to “change driver”, and calling it his “worst season ever”, doing little to lift spirits.

But lift its spirits, Ferrari must, says the Formula 1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali, also the former Ferrari team principal.

It was under Domenicali that Ferrari clinched the 2008 Constructors’ Championship, still its most recent F1 title success.

In conversation with Sky F1, Domenicali was asked whether Ferrari can turn things around in F1 2026, with sweeping changes to the chassis and engine regulations coming into play.

“There’s no need to cry. There’s no need to always be negative,” said Domenicali.

“They need to have a plan.

“I’m sure that Fred [Vasseur] and Lewis and Charles [Leclerc] have a plan. That’s what is important. I think it’s important to react, not to fade away with, let’s say, as it is normal, to be fourth in the championship.

“We want a strong Ferrari, and they deserve to be in a stronger position. So, that’s what they should take home for the winter break, to make sure that there is the right energy to follow-up.”

Domenicali views this as important because in F1 2026, “everyone is talking, but nobody knows where we are”, as he predicted an “evolution” of the landscape at every race.

One thing that we do know for certain is that Lando Norris goes into the new season as defending World Champion.

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Domenicali was asked what kind of figurehead he believes Norris will be as champion, especially with the younger members of F1’s growing fanbase in mind.

“Very positive. Younger, energetic, you know, with his personality that is different from the others” he said of Norris.

“I think he needs to keep one thing that I always said to him. Keep smiling. You need to have positive energy.

“Sometimes, they are young, so they are doing an incredible job. They are role models for a lot of people, so they need to remember that they are a unique talent, but, I always tell him, keep smiling.”

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