Jun.12 (GMM) Stefano Domenicali has dismissed claims he is 'too nice' to lead Ferrari back to world championship success.
Taking over from the resolute Jean Todt at the beginning of 2008, Domenicali came close to leading Ferrari to that title before the Italian team slumped last year.This season, the F10 began the season looking a championship contender, but in Turkey two weeks ago it was good enough only to populate the midfield.The arrival as team boss of Italian Domenicali, 45, came in the same era as Ferrari lost Frenchman Todt, German Michael Schumacher, Britons Ross Brawn and John Iley and South African designer Rory Byrne.Max Mosley said recently that an increasingly Italianised Ferrari is now "reverting to type", while Domenicali is often regarded as too nice to succeed with an eminent position."I don't care," he is quoted by the Guardian newspaper. "I'm not going to change my philosophy of life because some people don't like my style."There is no specific style to be a winner or to be a manager of a group," insisted Domenicali.Rather, he points to a new era where Ferrari is adjusting to the need to scale down and restrict spending, while the team's own Fiorano test track is now hardly used."A couple of years ago there was no limit on investment," he said."No limit on anything. Two years ago you wanted one of something you had hundreds. Now you want one of something you have half."Formula one is a different environment now, a different culture, and it's difficult to change the mentality of a big group. This is the biggest challenge for us."
