Domenicali: I considered quitting

Stefano Domenicali has confessed he considered resigning as Ferrari’s team boss in the wake of the strategy error that cost Fernando Alonso the world championship in the final race of last season in Abu Dhabi.
Alonso’s hopes of winning a third drivers’ title were wrecked by the timing of his pit stop in last November's race, Ferrari opting to pull him into the pits to cover Mark Webber's stop only to see him fall behind a series of runners who had already pitted – a mistake that allowed race winner Sebastian Vettel to pip him to the crown.
Domenicali acknowledged the team’s mistake in the immediate aftermath of the race but both he and Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo refused to point the finger of blame at any individual, insisting that they won and lost as a team.
The Maranello outfit was subjected to criticism from both media and Italian politicians in the days following the season finale and Domenicali has now revealed he considered his own position during that time.
However, the 45-year-old – who added that he could not sleep properly for two days after the race – reasoned that he would be wrong to simply walk away as he feels he is the right person to lead Ferrari's planned fightback this year.
“After Abu Dhabi I personally raised the issue, I thought about whether or not it was right for me to stay,” he said in a frank interview with Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper.

“Reflecting on [my position] seemed to me my duty, the responsible thing to do.
“I am not fixated on keeping my job. But I came to the conclusion that resigning would be a mistake.
“I know the team and I think I’m the right person to capitalise on all that we have sown in recent months.
“In terms of procedures at [the factory in] Maranello, we have changed almost everything and I am sure we will soon see the results of all our hard work.”
Although Domenicali accepts the Abu Dhabi error was a big one, he argues that the fact it was made in a tense championship decider was what had made it all the more damaging and that therefore Ferrari shouldn't look to change everything.
Nonetheless he accepts that alterations to the squad's race operations have been needed as a result and says that an annoucement regarding this area is imminent.
“The mistake was – let’s put it this way – huge in terms of magnitude; it produced devastating effects. But in a normal race it would have been a normal error,” Domenicali said.
“So you must not jettison everything, even the good things, because of that mistake.
“We will make some changes and officially announce things in the coming hours – and we will make sure that those who have to make these difficult decisions have all the tools they need to avoid making the same mistake again.
“Personally I will try to help the team from a psychological point of view as well, because the hardest penalty in a shoot-out is the one coming after you missed one.”