Belgian driver Jerome d’Ambrosio joined Virgin’s race team for the 2011 season after participating in several practice sessions with them at the end of 2010. His journey to F1 began with Renault’s driver development programme, making his start in circuit racing with Renault. In 2003, he won the Belgian Formula Renault 1600 championship.
| Nationality | Belgian |
|---|---|
| Born | Jérôme d’Ambrosio 27 December 1985 Etterbeek, Belgium |
Following a season in the F3000 Euroseries, d’Ambrosio claimed the inaugural Formula Master championship title in 2007. This success propelled him into GP2 and GP2 Asia, where he spent three seasons driving for DAMS. After finishing 11th and 9th overall in his first two seasons, he secured his first win in the sprint race at Monaco in 2010.
Midway through that season, he was temporarily replaced by Romain Grosjean at the German round but returned to complete the year. He also made four Friday practice appearances for Virgin in F1, alongside participating in the post-season young drivers’ test for both Virgin and Renault, which led to his promotion to Virgin’s race team for 2011.
Virgin Racing
D’Ambrosio faced a challenging debut season in F1 with Virgin Racing. He drove a highly uncompetitive car and partnered with the more experienced Timo Glock. Though he occasionally outqualified Glock, he typically finished behind him. A notable low point was during the 2011 Hungarian Grand Prix, where he spun in a damp pit lane but avoided a collision.
Towards the end of the season, he showed improvement, particularly in Japan and Brazil. However, his efforts were not enough to secure his seat for the following year, and he was replaced by Charles Pic for the 2012 season.
Lotus F1
In 2012, d’Ambrosio joined Lotus F1 as their third driver. He got a chance to race at the 2012 Italian Grand Prix when Romain Grosjean was banned, filling in for him for that race.
After his stint in F1, d’Ambrosio transitioned to Formula E, where he spent six seasons racing for Dragon and Mahindra. He achieved three race wins during his time in the series. Post-racing, d’Ambrosio took on a role at Mercedes, contributing to their junior driver programme. In 2024, he moved to Ferrari, continuing his career in motorsport development.
Jerome d’Ambrosio Formula One World Championship career
| F1 Career | 2011–2012 |
|---|---|
| Teams | Virgin Racing, Lotus F1 |
| Entries | 20 (20 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 2011 Australian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 2012 Italian Grand Prix |
Jerome d’Ambrosio Teammates
| 4 Teammates | Involvement | First Year | Last Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timo Glock | 23 | 2010 | 2011 |
| Lucas di Grassi | 4 | 2010 | |
| Robert Wickens | 1 | 2011 | |
| Kimi Räikkönen | 1 | 2012 |
Formula One Record
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Points | WDC Pos. | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Youth Career | |||||
| 2004, 2010 | Renault Driver Development | ||||
| Senior Career | |||||
| 2010 | Renault F1 Team | Renault | Test driver | ||
| Virgin Racing | Virgin-Cosworth | ||||
| 2011 | Marussia Virgin Racing | Virgin-Cosworth | 0 | 24th | Report |
| 2012 | Lotus F1 Team | Lotus–Renault | Test driver | ||
| 0 | 22nd | Report | |||
| 2013 | Lotus F1 Team | Lotus–Renault | Test driver | ||
Complete Formula One Results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Virgin Racing | Virgin VR-01 | Cosworth CA2010 2.4 V8 | BHR | AUS | MAL | CHN | ESP | MON | TUR | CAN | EUR | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | SIN TD | JPN TD | KOR TD | BRA TD | ABU | – | – | |
| 2011 | Marussia Virgin Racing | Virgin MVR-02 | Cosworth CA2011 2.4 V8 | AUS 14 | MAL Ret | CHN 20 | TUR 20 | ESP 20 | MON 15 | CAN 14 | EUR 22 | GBR 17 | GER 18 | HUN 19 | BEL 17 | ITA Ret | SIN 18 | JPN 21 | KOR 20 | IND 16 | ABU Ret | BRA 19 | 24th | 0 | |
| 2012 | Lotus F1 Team | Lotus E20 | Renault RS27-2012 2.4 V8 | AUS | MAL | CHN | BHR | ESP | MON | CAN | EUR | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA 13 | SIN | JPN | KOR | IND | ABU | USA | BRA | 23rd | 0 |
Sources
