Stefano Domenicali Recalls Striking Jimmy Fallon Prank at Miami Grand Prix Michelin‑Starred Dinner

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali described an unusual off‑track incident with television host Jimmy Fallon, who surprised him during a business dinner at a Michelin‑starred restaurant by having a pizza delivered to his table.

Domenicali appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where he and Fallon discussed the television host’s inaugural Formula 1 experience at the Miami Grand Prix earlier in the year.

After an initial meeting outside Domenicali’s paddock office at the Hard Rock Stadium, they met again that evening at The Surf Club, a restaurant run by chef Thomas Keller. While Fallon had already finished his meal, Domenicali was still waiting for his business dinner.

Seeing the delay, Fallon approached the restaurant manager to arrange a prank.

‘I asked the manager, ‘I want to send him something funny—perhaps a half‑eaten meatball?’” Fallon recalled on the show. “The manager replied, ‘We can’t do that; we’re a Michelin‑star restaurant and won’t accommodate that.’

‘What else could I send that would be funny?’ he asked. “Why not have a pizza delivered from the neighboring restaurant?” the manager suggested, arranging for his dinner to be withheld while a pizza was delivered instead.

The pizza arrived with a handwritten note that read, ‘Stefano, delivery just in case. Jimmy Fallon.’

Domenicali kept the note to show his daughter that he had been with Fallon that day and later brought it onto The Tonight Show.

‘I kept it because we were starving; it saved our dinner,’ Domenicali said. ‘I have a family, and my daughter thinks you’re a hero, so I wanted to bring it home to prove that you were with me.’

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