Fred Vasseur has extended his stint as Ferrari’s team principal after signing a multi-year contract with the Scuderia.
Having led the team through two seasons, the Frenchman’s success has not gone unnoticed, with Ferrari consistently placing in the top three in the constructors’ championship.
With Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton at his disposal, Vasseur has, on paper, one of the sport’s most successful pairings.
Despite numerous podium appearances in 2025, Ferrari seem to be struggling against the rapid McLaren and Red Bull cars.
However, Vasseur’s extension means that there is hope at Maranello that their star-studded lineup will soon deliver results.
This has also been the case for Vasseur’s predecessors. Over the last two decades, five other team principals have tried to restore Ferrari to its former glory, with only one successfully managing to win both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships.
So, with that said, The Sport Review takes a look at the highs and lows of Ferrari’s last five team principals.
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Jean Todt (1993-2007)
Jean Todt remains one of F1’s most successful team principals, with seven constructors’ titles and six drivers’ titles for Ferrari.
While in charge, he rebuilt the team after a disappointing few years in the early nineties into one of the sport’s most dominant teams after signing Michael Schumacher in 1996.
In just a few years, Ferrari were back at the top, fighting for championships against drivers like McLaren’s Mika Hakkinen and Williams’ Jacques Villeneuve.
In his fifth season for the team, then two-time world champion Michael Schumacher won the championship in 2000, Ferrari’s first drivers’ champion since Jody Scheckter in 1979.
A period of absolute domination followed, winning most races, making Schumacher and Ferrari one of the most successful pairings in F1 history, with a whopping 72 victories for Maranello.
This was thanks to Todt’s stability within the team and his excellent leadership skills, which continued during a difficult era for Ferrari after a regulations change in 2005, leading to two successive losses to Renault and Fernando Alonso.
The Frenchman’s final season with the Scuderia came in 2007, when he chose Kimi Raikkonen to replace Schumacher.
In his debut season, Raikkonen narrowly beat McLaren drivers Hamilton and Alonso to win the world championship, making it Ferrari’s most recent drivers’ championship.
With Todt’s impressive record, the Frenchman went on to head the FIA, a role which he held until 2021, with Mohammed Ben Sulayem taking his place.
Stefano Domenicali (2008-2014)
Stefano Domenicali, now CEO of F1, had considerable success during his six seasons as Ferrari team principal.
Managing drivers such as Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso, and Kimi Raikkonen proved to be difficult at times due to the team losing out on the development race against teams like Red Bull and McLaren.
2008 was a special year for Ferrari, as they had the opportunity to make Felipe Massa the first Brazilian world champion since Ayrton Senna in 1991.
The iconic phrase “Is that Glock?” still echoes around Interlagos to this day as Massa and Ferrari had their title snatched away from them following a last-lap move from Lewis Hamilton, making him 2008’s F1 world champion.
Following the bitter 2008 defeat, 2009 rubbed salt in the wounds as a lack of development meant that they lost out on yet another title.
Domenicali was instrumental in guiding Fernando Alonso to two spectacular title charges in 2010 and 2012 against the formidable Sebastian Vettel, but Red Bull’s pace advantage meant that Ferrari were yet again runners-up.
Following the successive losses for Ferrari, the team principal resigned from his role in 2014, which led to Mattiaci’s appointment.
Returning to F1 as its CEO in 2021, Domenicali has no doubt transformed the sport into the juggernaut it is today.
Marco Mattiaci (2014)
When Marco Mattiaci came onto the scene in 2014, there was no hiding from the fact that the Italian had no prior F1 experience.
His background was actually in the road car arm of Ferrari, as the CEO of Ferrari North America.
Under Mattiaci, Ferrari had their worst season in twenty years, failing to win a race for the first time since 1993.
This was particularly confusing as the team had world champions Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso, two of F1’s most decorated drivers.
The real failing of Mattiaci’s era as Ferrari team principal was the organisation of the team and the dreaded F14 T, the car that infamously suffered from oversteer and understeer simultaneously.
Due to his lack of experience, those seven months leading the Scuderia were nothing short of disappointing for the Tifosi.
His inexperience led to instability within the team and Ferrari losing Alonso at the end of the season.
Maurizio Arrivabene (2015-2018)
It seemed that when Maurizio Arrivabene arrived through the doors of Maranello in 2015 that change was around the corner.
Sebastian Vettel ditched Red Bull after a disastrous 2014 season and joined the team where he saw his childhood hero, Michael Schumacher, dominate.
With Kimi Raikkonen alongside Vettel, it was clear that Ferrari had both experience and speed on their hands.
2015 was a dream season as Vettel took three victories in Malaysia, Hungary, and Singapore. This was particularly shocking at the time, as Mercedes had an extremely dominant car, and on most weekends, they were untouchable.
With 2015’s highs came 2016 lows. The SF16-H was underdeveloped and could not go toe-to-toe with the likes of Mercedes and Red Bull. However, this was all about to change next season.
In 2017 and 2018, Ferrari, specifically Vettel, challenged Lewis Hamilton for his fifth drivers’ title, which proved unsuccessful both times.
Despite this, Arrivabene’s time at Ferrari was a breath of fresh air for the team following a disappointing 2014 season and gave hope to the Tifosi for a title soon.
Mattia Binotto (2019-2022)
Mattia Binotto, now in charge of Audi’s F1 project, took control of Ferrari during Charles Leclerc’s first few years with the team.
With a young talent like Leclerc and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, Binotto had a formula for success.
Binotto’s term as team principal was overshadowed by Ferrari’s poor strategy calls, which led to a loss of several victories and podiums over the years.
The lowest point was in 2020, just a year into his role. A lack of development and coherent strategy meant that the Scuderia suffered its worst season since 1980, finishing sixth in the constructors’ championship.
With Binotto leaving the team in 2022 following an embarrassing title loss for Leclerc to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, his legacy as team principal remains tarnished.