Stefano Domenicali backs Fred Vasseur for 2026 comeback: "We want a strong Ferrari"

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has put his faith in Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur and drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc having a plan in place to place the Maranello outfit in a stronger position.

Hamilton joined Ferrari ahead of the 2025 season after a 12-year stint with Mercedes, and while expectations for his arrival were high, the seven-time champion took time to adjust to his new team. Leclerc and Hamilton finished the drivers' championship in fifth and sixth with 242 and 156 points, respectively, resulting in a fourth-place finish for Ferrari in the constructors' championship.

“You know, I'm a positive guy. I think that there's no need to cry. There's no need to always be negative. They need to have a plan. And I'm sure that Fred [Vasseur] and Lewis and Charles have a plan, and that's what's important," Domenicali told Sky Sports.

Domenicali, who served as team principal for the Italian team from 2008 to 2014, explained that it was important for the championship to have a strong Ferrari.

Stefano Domenicali, CEO of the Formula One Group on the grid

Photo by: Lars Baron / LAT Images via Getty Images

Stefano Domenicali, CEO of the Formula One Group on the grid

Photo by: Lars Baron / LAT Images via Getty Images

"I think it's important to react, not to fade away as if it were normal to be fourth in the championship," he continued. "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 and the right thing to follow up because next year everyone is talking, but no one knows where we are.

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"So a lot of points to talk about. If you see what has happened this year, everyone was already knowing what was going to happen next year because every race there will be an evolution."

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- The Motorsport.com Team