Top serving team principals for Scuderia Ferrari

The team principal position at Scuderia Ferrari is considered by many to be the most prestigious and most scrutinized job in all of Formula 1. Being the most successful team in the history of Formula 1, Ferrari demands success. To add to this, the Italian motorsports media is absolutely relentless, and every move made by the team principal is dissected with utmost attention.

Mattio Binottio's resignation after a successful 2022 season where they finished second in both the Drivers and Constructors Championship - beaten only by a flawless Red Bull team and Max Verstappen at the peak of his abilities - is another proof of the pressure and expectations of the team principal role. In such a scenario, holding onto this job is extremely difficult for any individual. Let us look back at three of the greatest to ever serve, and what made them so successful at Ferrari.

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Here are the top serving team principals at Ferrari:

#3 Eugenio Dragoni (1962-1966)

John Surtees won the World Championship in 1964 when Dragoni was the Team Principal

Coming from a family of wealthy industrialists, Dragoni soon dived into his family business as a teenager after the death of his parents. However, he always had a passion for motorsport and after an unsuccessful attempt as a racing driver, he joined the Scuderia Sant'Ambroeus, an Italian racing team, in 1951. In 1961, he was a promoter of the agreement between Enzo Ferrari and the FISA - which ultimately culminated in him becoming the new team manager for Scuderia Ferrari. With Eugenio Dragoni leading, the Scuderia Ferrari scored the Formula 1 drivers' and constructors’ World Championship in 1964.

#2 Stefano Domenicali (2008–2014)

Stefano Domenicalli at the FIA Gala Prize Giving Ceremony 2007

Domenicali was a Ferrari guy through and through. He joined Ferrari in 1991 and worked in the Finance Department. He worked his way through the ranks over the years and became the Sporting Director in 2002. After the departure of the erstwhile Jean Todt, he was appointed at the team principal in 2008.

He started his tenure with a bang, winning the constructor's championship in 2008 and only narrowly losing the Drivers' Championship to Lewis Hamilton on the last corner of the last lap of the Brazilian GP. Unfortunately, this turned out to be his only championship, as Ferrari failed to win any titles in the next 5 years of his tenureship.

#1 Jean Todt (1993–2007)

Jean Todt was at the helm for the most successful period for Scuderia Ferrari

Born and brought up in France, Todt was fascinated by motorsports from his early childhood. He soon realized his greatest strength was being a co-driver and his stellar career as a rally co-driver spanned from 1966 to 1981. After a stint with Peugeot Talbot Sport as a director, he was appointed as the first non-Italian team principal of Scuderia Ferrari in 1994.

This started a golden period for the Scarlet Red team as they won 5 Constructors and 5 WDCs between 2000 and 2007. The trio of Jean Todt, Ross Brawn and the legendary Michael Schumacher is widely considered to be the most dominant partnership in the history of Formula 1.