Jérôme d'Ambrosio

Jérôme d'Ambrosio
D'Ambrosio at the 2022 Berlin E-Prix
NationalityBelgium Belgian
Born (1985-12-27) 27 December 1985 (age 38)
Etterbeek, Belgium
Formula E career
Debut season2014–15
Car number64
Former teamsDragon Racing, Mahindra Racing
Starts68
Championships0
Wins3
Podiums9
Poles2
Fastest laps3
Best finish4th in 2014–15
Finished last season16th
Formula One World Championship career
Active years20112012
TeamsVirgin, Lotus
Entries20 (20 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points0
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry2011 Australian Grand Prix
Last entry2012 Italian Grand Prix
2012 position23rd (0 pts)

Jérôme d’Ambrosio (pronounced [ʒe.ʁom damˈbrɔ.zjo]; born 27 December 1985) is a Belgian former professional racing driver, motorsport executive and Driver Development Director at Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team. He was formerly the Team Principal of Venturi Racing in Formula E.

He has previously driven for Marussia Virgin Racing and Lotus F1 in the 2011 and 2012 Formula One World Championships. From 2014 to 2020, he competed in Formula E driving for Dragon Racing and Mahindra Racing. D’Ambrosio achieved three victories in the series, winning the 2015 Berlin ePrix, 2016 Mexico City ePrix and 2019 Marrakesh ePrix.

Racing career

1999–2002: Karting

Born in Etterbeek, Belgium, D’Ambrosio began his career in karting in 1999. By 2002, he was a three-time Belgian champion after winning the Mini class in 1999, Junior class in 2000 and Formula A in 2002. Alongside national success, he won the acclaimed Junior Monaco Kart Cup in 2000 and was the winner of the World Cup Formula A championship in 2002.

2003–2007: Formula Renault, Euroseries 3000, and Formula Master

D’Ambrosio graduated to single-seater competition in 2003 and tasted immediate success by winning the Belgian Formula Renault championship with five wins, driving for Thierry Boutsen Racing. He also contested the German-based Formula König series where he finished fourth in the standings.

For 2004, D’Ambrosio earned a place on the prestigious Renault F1 Driver Development Programme and moved into the French Formula Renault 2.0 series where he finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship as the highest-placed rookie. He also contested seven races in Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup.

In 2005, he switched to Italian Formula Renault and finished third in the championship's Winter Series and fourth overall in the regular season, recording three wins and six podiums across both. He also started six races in the Eurocup, taking two podiums.

D’Ambrosio graduated to the highest category of Formula Renault in 2006, racing in the 3.5 Series for Tech 1 Racing but left the championship after seven races.

After leaving the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, D’Ambrosio switched to Euroseries 3000 with Euronova Racing and drove an impressive campaign to finish fifth in the final standings, despite missing the first half of the season.

He also participated in one round of the FIA GT Championship, driving a Gillet Vertigo in the GT2 class.

In 2007, D’Ambrosio participated in the inaugural season of the International Formula Master series. Racing for Cram Competition, he secured five wins, 11 podiums and seven fastest laps in 16 races to win the championship.

2008–2010: GP2 Series

D'Ambrosio driving for DAMS at the Turkish round of the 2009 GP2 Series season.
D'Ambrosio driving for Virgin Racing as the team's third driver at the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix.

D’Ambrosio joined Formula One feeder championship, the GP2 Series, in 2008 and also raced in the newly created GP2 Asia Series, both for the DAMS team. He finished 11th in both championships, with two podiums in each series.

He extended his relationship with DAMS in 2009 and finished as the vice-champion in the 2008–09 GP2 Asia Series with four podiums. D’Ambrosio started the 2009 GP2 Series well and recorded three podiums in the first four races and finished ninth in the final standings.

In 2010, D’Ambrosio experienced a breakout season with DAMS and secured his first victory in the championship at Monaco. He later took his first series pole position at his home event at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps but retired from the race when leading. He took one further podium at Monza and finished 12th in the standings.

2010–2013: Formula One

In January 2010, D’Ambrosio was named as the Reserve Driver of the Renault F1 Team after rejoining the outfit's young driver programme.

Later in the year on 16 September, it was announced that D’Ambrosio would make his Formula One race weekend debut, making four practice appearances with Virgin Racing at the Singapore, Japanese, Korean and Brazilian Grands Prix. He placed 21st in his first FP1 appearance at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, finishing two-tenths behind experienced team-mate Timo Glock.

Virgin (2011)

D'Ambrosio at the 2011 Spanish Grand Prix.

On 21 December 2010, it was officially announced that D’Ambrosio would race for Virgin Racing in the 2011 Formula One World Championship, replacing Lucas di Grassi and partnering Glock.

In the Virgin garage, D’Ambrosio was affectionately known as 'Custard', with the word pasted on his cockpit when he began testing for the 2011 season at Valencia. Ambrosia is a well-known UK brand of custard and rice pudding.

D'Ambrosio at the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix

Driving the largely uncompetitive Virgin MVR-02, D’Ambrosio finished 16 of the season's 19 races and retired from the Malaysian, Italian and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix due to poor reliability with problems with his electronics, gearbox and brakes. D’Ambrosio became the first Belgian driver to compete at the Belgian Grand Prix since Thierry Boutsen in 1993 and finished 17th, beating team-mate Glock.

He finished the season 24th in the Drivers' Championship with a best of two 14th-place finishes in Australia and Canada. Despite beating Glock, D’Ambrosio was replaced by Charles Pic for the 2012 season.

Lotus (2012–2013)

On 24 January 2012, D’Ambrosio was named as the official Reserve Driver for Lotus F1 for the 2012 season, supporting full-time drivers Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean. Throughout the season, he did co-commentary work for Sky Sports F1 for Formula One practice sessions, GP2 and GP3 races, and also commentated for the Belgian French-speaking channel, RTBF.

D’Ambrosio replaced Grosjean at the 2012 Italian Grand Prix to make his debut for Lotus after the Frenchman received a one-race ban for causing a multi-car collision at the previous round in Belgium. He qualified 16th for the race and started in 15th due to a 10-place grid penalty for Pastor Maldonado. D’Ambrosio finished in 13th and on the lead lap, 76 seconds behind winner Lewis Hamilton.

D’Ambrosio continued as Lotus F1's Reserve Driver for 2013 until the end of the season.

Blancpain Endurance Series

In 2014, D’Ambrosio switched from single-seaters to GT racing and joined Bentley to race a Continental GT3 in the Blancpain Endurance Series. Alongside team-mates Duncan Tappy and Anthoine Leclerc, D’Ambrosio secured a best result of sixth at the first race of the season at Monza.

2014–2022: Formula E

Dragon Racing

D’Ambrosio joined Dragon Racing to contest the inaugural season of the FIA Formula E Championship, partnering Oriol Servià and Loïc Duval.

2014–15
D'Ambrosio at the 2014 Punta del Este ePrix

He scored points on debut by finishing sixth at the 2014 Beijing ePrix and secured his first victory in the series at the 2015 Berlin ePrix, winning the race after initial victor, Lucas di Grassi, was disqualified after violating technical regulations.

D’Ambrosio scored back-to-back podiums at the double-header 2015 London ePrix to finish fourth in the Drivers' Championship with 113 points, out-racing team-mates Servià and Duval in all but one race during the season.

During the year, D’Ambrosio was the only driver on the grid to finish every race and completed every racing lap in the 2014/15 season, missing out on the top 10 only twice. Dragon Racing finished second in the Teams' Championship.

2015–16
D'Ambrosio finished third at the 2015 Punta del Este ePrix

D’Ambrosio remained with Dragon Racing for the 2015–16 Formula E Championship and was again partnered by Duval. The team used powertrains developed by Venturi Racing.

He finished fifth in the first race of the season in Beijing and scored his first pole position in the series at the 2015 Punta del Este ePrix and went on to finish third. D’Ambrosio recorded his second career victory at the 2016 Mexico City ePrix after original winner, Lucas di Grassi, was disqualified due to a technical infringement.

By finishing third at the season finale in London, D’Ambrosio finished fifth in the Drivers' Championship with 83 points.

2016–17

D’Ambrosio continued to race for Dragon Racing in the 2016–17 Formula E Championship, with the team manufacturing its own powertrains for the first time after entering a four-year technical partnership with American technology start-up, Faraday Future.

In an uncompetitive package, he secured his best finish of the year at the season-opening race in Hong Kong, in which he finished seventh. D’Ambrosio scored further points in Buenos Aires, New York, and Montreal and finished 18th in the Drivers' Championship with 13 points.

2017–18

D’Ambrosio raced for Dragon Racing for a fourth successive season in the 2017/18 FIA Formula E Championship. The team's technical partnership with Faraday Future came to an early conclusion as a result of financial difficulties for the startup.

The team's package again proved to be uncompetitive and D’Ambrosio registered his first points of the season at the 2018 Santiago ePrix by finishing eighth. He took further points in Punta del Este and Rome.

At the 2018 Zürich ePrix, D’Ambrosio returned to the podium for the first time since the 2016 London ePrix by finishing third. This result marked his best result of the season, in which he finished 14th in the Drivers' Championship with 27 points, beating team-mates José María López and Neel Jani.

Mahindra

On 13 October 2018, it was announced that D’Ambrosio would leave Dragon Racing to join Mahindra Racing for the 2018–19 Formula E Championship.

2018–19

D'Ambrosio finished third in the first race of the season in Diriyah and secured his third victory in the series at the 2019 Marrakesh ePrix. After taking further points finishes in Santiago, Mexico City, Sanya and Rome, D’Ambrosio led the Drivers' Championship at the mid-way point of the season.

Poor fortune impacted the second half of his campaign, with points only falling in New York. He ended the season in 11th in the Drivers' Championship with 67 points, beating team-mate Pascal Wehrlein.

2019–2020

D’Ambrosio continued with Mahindra Racing for the 2019–20 Formula E Championship, with the team entering a powertrain partnership with ZF Friedrichshafen. The team's package was largely uncompetitive and struggled for efficiency in race conditions.

D’Ambrosio scored points in the first race of the season in Diriyah and registered his best finish in the first part of the 2020 Berlin ePrix following Formula E's five-month hiatus as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He finished 16th in the Drivers' Championship with 19 points, beating team-mates Wehrlein and Alex Lynn. At the end of the season, D’Ambrosio announced his official retirement from professional competition and ended his career with an 18th-placed finish in Berlin.

Venturi Racing

2020–2022

On 30 October 2020, D’Ambrosio joined ROKiT Venturi Racing as Deputy Team Principal for the 2020–21 Formula E World Championship, taking his first steps into motor racing team management.

In November, 2021, he was promoted to the role of Team Principal following a management restructure, with former team boss, Susie Wolff, being appointed to the position of chief executive officer.

Under D’Ambrosio's leadership, ROKiT Venturi Racing experienced its most successful campaign to date in the 2021–22 Formula E World Championship, with the team winning five races and scoring 10 podiums in 16 races while also finishing second in the World Teams' Championship with 295 points.

On 16 September 2022, it was announced that D'Ambrosio had left the team ahead of its transition to Maserati MSG Racing for Season 9.

2023– : Formula One

Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team

D'Ambrosio had been working closely with Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team Team Principal Toto Wolff at the start of the 2023 Formula One World Championship on an informal basis. At the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Wolff announced that D'Ambrosio had acquired a formal role as the Driver Development Director for the team. He will be looking after and managing all of Mercedes' young drivers in various motorsports categories. After Toto Wolff undergoes knee surgery following the Singapore Grand Prix, D'Ambrosio will replace Wolff in Japan before the Austrian returns for the Qatar Grand Prix.

Other appearances

D'Ambrosio featured in the first episode of the Amazon motoring show "The Grand Tour" as a test driver putting in lap times for the LaFerrari, Porsche 918 and McLaren P1. The episode attracted nearly two million viewers in its first weekend of release.

Personal life

D'Ambrosio is the son of Henri and Giselle d'Ambrosio.

In 2013, D'Abrosio married the American-Chilean model Natalie "Natty" Sifferman at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in La Hulpe, Belgium. They divorced after two years of marriage.

In 2020, D'Ambrosio married Austrian jewellery designer, Eleonore von Habsburg at the Civil Registry of Monaco, in a ceremony conducted by the Mayor of Monaco Georges Marsan. On 20 October 2021, Eleonore gave birth to their son, Otto D’Ambrosio, named after her grandfather, Otto von Habsburg.

Racing record

Career summary

Season Series Team Name Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2003 Formula Renault 1.6 Belgium Thierry Boutsen Racing 14 5 3 7 ? ? 1st
Formula König N/A 12 4 3 7 9 240 4th
2004 Championnat de France Formula Renault 2.0 Graff Racing 14 0 0 2 2 156 4th
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 7 0 0 0 0 28 16th
2005 Formula Renault 2.0 Italia Euronova Racing 17 1 1 0 4 199 4th
Formula Renault 2.0 Italia Winter Series 4 2 0 ? 2 40 3rd
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 6 0 0 0 2 22 15th
Italian Formula 3000 Light 1 0 1 0 1 9 6th
2006 Euroseries 3000 Euronova Racing 10 0 0 1 3 39 5th
Formula Renault 3.5 Series Tech 1 Racing 7 0 0 0 0 0 36th
FIA GT Championship – GT2 Belgian Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2007 International Formula Master Cram Competition 16 5 1 7 11 100 1st
2008 GP2 Series DAMS 20 0 0 0 2 21 11th
GP2 Asia Series 10 0 0 0 2 12 11th
2008–09 GP2 Asia Series DAMS 11 0 1 2 4 36 2nd
2009 GP2 Series DAMS 20 0 0 0 3 29 9th
2010 GP2 Series DAMS 18 1 1 0 2 21 12th
Formula One Virgin Racing Test driver
2011 Formula One Marussia Virgin Racing 19 0 0 0 0 0 24th
2012 Formula One Lotus F1 Team 1 0 0 0 0 0 23rd
2013 Formula One Lotus F1 Team Reserve driver
2014 Blancpain Endurance Series M-Sport 5 0 0 0 0 15 17th
2014–15 Formula E Dragon Racing 11 1 0 0 3 113 4th
2015–16 Formula E Dragon Racing 10 1 2 1 3 83 5th
2016–17 Formula E Faraday Future Dragon Racing 12 0 0 0 0 13 18th
2017–18 Formula E Dragon Racing 12 0 0 1 1 27 14th
2018 Stock Car Brasil Cimed Racing Team 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
2018–19 Formula E Mahindra Racing 13 1 0 0 2 67 11th
2019–20 Formula E Mahindra Racing 10 0 0 0 0 19 16th
Sources:

As d'Ambrosio was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Pos Points
2006 Tech 1 Racing ZOL
1

19
ZOL
2

19†
MON
1

12
IST
1

14
IST
2

22
MIS
1

16
MIS
2

19
SPA
1
SPA
2
NÜR
1
NÜR
2
DON
1
DON
2
LMS
1
LMS
2
CAT
1
CAT
2
36th 0
Sources:

Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Complete GP2 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Points
2008 DAMS CAT
FEA

Ret
CAT
SPR

15
IST
FEA

Ret
IST
SPR

Ret
MON
FEA

9
MON
SPR

7
MAG
FEA

6
MAG
SPR

Ret
SIL
FEA

9
SIL
SPR

12
HOC
FEA

Ret
HOC
SPR

11
HUN
FEA

9
HUN
SPR

Ret
VAL
FEA

5
VAL
SPR

2
SPA
FEA

8
SPA
SPR

2
MNZ
FEA

7
MNZ
SPR

6
11th 21
2009 DAMS CAT
FEA

3
CAT
SPR

3
MON
FEA

6
MON
SPR

2
IST
FEA

Ret
IST
SPR

15
SIL
FEA

19
SIL
SPR

12
NÜR
FEA

10
NÜR
SPR

7
HUN
FEA

16
HUN
SPR

Ret
VAL
FEA

9
VAL
SPR

4
SPA
FEA

Ret
SPA
SPR

Ret
MNZ
FEA

4
MNZ
SPR

4
ALG
FEA

Ret
ALG
SPR

10
9th 29
2010 DAMS CAT
FEA

Ret
CAT
SPR

10
MON
FEA

8
MON
SPR

1
IST
FEA

10
IST
SPR

8
VAL
FEA

Ret
VAL
SPR

8
SIL
FEA

11
SIL
SPR

11
HOC
FEA
HOC
SPR
HUN
FEA

6
HUN
SPR

Ret
SPA
FEA

Ret
SPA
SPR

Ret
MNZ
FEA

5
MNZ
SPR

2
YMC
FEA

14
YMC
SPR

8
12th 21
Sources:

Complete GP2 Asia Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 DC Points
2008 DAMS DUB1
FEA

11
DUB1
SPR

8
SEN
FEA

Ret
SEN
SPR

Ret
SEP
FEA

3
SEP
SPR

Ret
BHR
FEA

11
BHR
SPR

12
DUB2
FEA

7
DUB2
SPR

3
11th 12
2008–09 DAMS SHI
FEA

9
SHI
SPR

5
DUB
FEA

7
DUB
SPR

C
BHR1
FEA

2
BHR1
SPR

3
LSL
FEA

5
LSL
SPR

7
SEP
FEA

Ret
MYS
SPR

DSQ
BHR2
FEA

3
BHR2
SPR

2
2nd 36
Source:

Complete Formula One results

(key)

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:

Complete Formula E results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Chassis Powertrain 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pos Points
2014–15 Dragon Racing Spark SRT01-e SRT01-e BEI
6
PUT
5
PDE
8
BUE
14
MIA
4
LBH
6
MCO
5
BER
1
MSC
11
LDN
2
LDN
2
4th 113
2015–16 Dragon Racing Spark SRT01-e Venturi VM200-FE-01 BEI
5
PUT
14†
PDE
3
BUE
16
MEX
1
LBH
7
PAR
11
BER
16
LDN
8
LDN
3
5th 83
2016–17 Faraday Future Dragon Racing Spark SRT01-e Penske 701-EV HKG
7
MRK
13
BUE
8
MEX
14
MCO
Ret
PAR
Ret
BER
13
BER
13
NYC
Ret
NYC
10
MTL
11
MTL
9
18th 13
2017–18 Dragon Racing Spark SRT01-e Penske EV-2 HKG
NC
HKG
15
MRK
15
SCL
8
MEX
11
PDE
9
RME
7
PAR
12
BER
19
ZUR
3
NYC
13
NYC
Ret
14th 27
2018–19 Mahindra Racing Spark SRT05e Mahindra M5Electro ADR
3
MRK
1
SCL
10
MEX
4
HKG
Ret
SYX
6
RME
8
PAR
Ret
MCO
11
BER
17
BRN
13
NYC
9
NYC
11
11th 67
2019–20 Mahindra Racing Spark SRT05e Mahindra M6Electro DIR
9
DIR
DNS
SCL
NC
MEX
10
MRK
13
BER
5
BER
DSQ
BER
7
BER
15
BER
16
BER
18
16th 19
Sources:

Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.


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