Bye bye Lamborghini, hello F1! Ex-chief of Audi, Ferrari bids adieu to luxury cars, becomes Formula 1 CEO

By Daniele Lepido

The chief executive of Lamborghini who oversaw a doubling of sales and its foray into sport utility vehicles is leaving the Italian carmaker to return to the upper echelons of auto racing.

Stefano Domenicali will become CEO of Formula One in January, the auto-racing unit owned by Liberty Media Corp. announced Friday. The 55-year-old has led Volkswagen AG’s performance-car brand since 2016 and introduced its first SUV model, the Urus.


Volkswagen has mulled options for Lamborghini including a sale or stock listing, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News last year, with Chief Executive Officer Herbert Diess wanting to focus future expansion on the group’s VW, Porsche and Audi brands and channel resources more efficiently. The carmaker also is considering a sale of its Bugatti division.

Domenicali started his career at Ferrari almost three decades ago and led its Formula One team from 2008 to 2014 before joining Audi. Lamborghini didn’t immediately announce his successor.

Liberty Media took steps to inject more cash into Formula One earlier this year after the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of races worldwide. The parent company is run by the billionaire media investor John Malone, who paid $4.4 billion for Formula One in 2017.