Jérôme D’Ambrosio (born 27 December 1985) is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

former professional racing driver, motorsport executive and former Team Principal of

Venturi Racing Venturi Racing (formerly Venturi Formula E Team) is a Monegasque motor racing team controlled by Scott Swid (Chairman and principal owner) and José M Aznar Botella. The team competes in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. 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 2014-2020, he competed in Formula E driving for

Dragon Racing Dragon Racing (formerly Luczo-Dragon Racing) is an American auto racing team that is involved in many areas of motorsport. Dragon Racing was founded in 2007 by Jay Penske and Stephen J. Luczo. The team competed in the IndyCar Series from 200 ...

and

Mahindra Racing Mahindra Racing is a motor racing team based in Banbury, United Kingdom, competing with an Indian racing licence. The team is currently competing in the electric FIA Formula E Championship since the inaugural season in 2014. The team formerly co ...

. D’Ambrosio achieved three victories in the series, winning the

2015 Berlin ePrix The 2015 Berlin ePrix, formally known as the 2015 DHL Berlin ePrix, was a Formula E motor race that took place on 23 May 2015 on the purpose-built Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit in Berlin. It was the eighth round of the 2014–15 Formula E se ...

, 2016 Mexico City ePrix and 2019 Marrakesh ePrix.

Racing career

1999–2002: Karting

Born in

Etterbeek Etterbeek (French: ; Dutch: ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the municipalities of Auderghem, the City of Brussels, Ixelles, Schaerbeek, Wolu ...

, 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 The Junior Monaco Kart Cup was a kart racing event ruled by the CIK-FIA and organized by the Automobile Club de Monaco, it took place each year in Monaco. The event see young drivers compete with KF3 OK-Junior is a kart racing class for top dri ...

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 Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

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 The French automotive manufacturer Renault has been associated with Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1977. In 1977, the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine ...

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 Tech 1 Racing is a racing team based in Toulouse, France. They currently compete in the World Series by Renault and Eurocup Mégane Trophy. Tech 1 also operate the Panis Racing LMP2 entry to the European Le Mans Series and the Ultimate LMP2 Pro ...

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 The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...

, driving a

Gillet Gillet is a Belgian automobile manufacturer, started in 1992 by former racing driver Tony Gillet. The company produces the Vertigo sports coupé, an ultra-lightweight (990 kg) 'bespoke' and hand-built sportscar. The slogan of the company i ...

Vertigo in the GT2 class. In 2007, D’Ambrosio participated in the inaugural season of the

International Formula Master International Formula Master, also known as Formula Super 2000, was a European-based junior single seater formula. The series was conceived as a competitor for Formula Three and made its debut at Valencia in 2007. European television channel Euros ...

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

Jerome d'Ambrosio 2010 Japan 1st Free Practice 2

D’Ambrosio joined Formula One feeder championship, the

GP2 Series The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccles ...

, in 2008 and also raced in the newly created GP2 Asia Series, both for the

DAMS A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

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 The Marina Bay Street Circuit (otherwise known as the Singapore Street Circuit) is a street circuit around Marina Bay, Singapore, encompassing the planning areas of Downtown Core (Turns 4 to 23) and Kallang (Turns 1 to 3). It is the venue for ...

, finishing two-tenths behind experienced team-mate Timo Glock.

Virgin (2011)

On 21 December, 2010, it was officially announced that D’Ambrosio would race for Virgin Racing in the

2011 Formula One World Championship The 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 65th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. The original calendar for the 2011 Formula One World Championship consisted of twenty rounds, including the inaugural running of the Indian Gr ...

, 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. Jerome d'Ambrosio 2011 Malaysia FP1 2

Driving the largely uncompetitive Virgin MVR-02, D’Ambrosio finished 16 of the season’s 19 races and retired from the

Malaysian Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...

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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 Charles Pic (; born 15 February 1990) is a retired professional racing driver who drove in Formula One for two full seasons in and , racing for Marussia F1 Team in the first season and then for Caterham in the second season. Early career Karti ...

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 Sky Sports F1 is a television channel created exclusively for Sky's UK and Ireland coverage of Formula One, with Sky having a package of rights from the 2012 season to the 2029 season. From 2012 to 2029, Sky Sports F1 has the exclusive rights ...

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 The 2012 Italian Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Gran Premio Santander d'Italia 2012) was a Formula One motor race that took place at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Monza, Italy on 9 September 2012. It was the thirteenth race of ...

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 Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mic ...

. D’Ambrosio continued as Lotus F1’s Reserve Driver for 2013.

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 The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, formerly for sponsorship reasons the Blancpain Endurance Series from 2011 to 2015 and Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup from 2016 to 2019, is a sports car racing series developed by SRO Motorsports Gr ...

. Alongside team-mates

Duncan Tappy Duncan Tappy (born 26 June 1984 in West Ewell, Surrey) is a professional racing driver from the United Kingdom. Racing career Early career Tappy began his racing career in karting, finishing runner-up in the 2004 UK Formula Ford championshi ...

and Anthoine Leclerc, D’Ambrosio secured a best result of sixth at the first race of the season at Monza.

2014–present: Formula E

Dragon Racing

D’Ambrosio joined

to contest the inaugural season of the

FIA Formula E Championship Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, who ...

, partnering Oriol Servià and Loïc Duval.

=2014–15

Dragon Racing Punta del Este ePrix 2014 14

He scored points on debut by finishing sixth at the

2014 Beijing ePrix The 2014 Beijing ePrix, formally the 2014 FIA Formula E Evergrande Spring Beijing ePrix, was a Formula E motor race that was held on 13 September 2014 at the Beijing Olympic Green Circuit in Beijing, China. It was the first Championship race of ...

and secured his first victory in the series at the

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

. 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 London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, 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 Faraday Future is an American start-up technology company focused on the development of electric vehicles, founded in 2014. History Founding Faraday Future was founded by Chinese businessman Jia Yueting in April 2014 and is headquartered in L ...

. 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

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 Punta del Este () is a seaside city and peninsula on the Atlantic Coast in the Maldonado Department of southeastern Uruguay. Starting as a small town, Punta del Este later became internationally known as a resort for the Latin and North American j ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. At the 2018 Zürich ePrix, D’Ambrosio returned to the podium for the first time since the

2016 London ePrix Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film d ...

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 José María "Pechito" López (born 26 April 1983) is an Argentine race car driver who is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing and 2014–2016 World Touring Car Champion. He raced in the 2006 GP ...

and Neel Jani.

Mahindra

On 13 October, 2018, it was announced that D’Ambrosio would leave Dragon Racing to join

for the 2018–19 Formula E Championship.

=2018–19

= D'Ambrosio finished third in the first race of the season in

Diriyah Diriyah ( ar, الدِرْعِيّة), formerly romanized as Dereyeh and Dariyya), is a town in Saudi Arabia located on the north-western outskirts of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Diriyah was the original home of the Saudi royal family, and served ...

and secured his third victory in the series at the 2019 Marrakesh ePrix. After taking further points finishes in Santiago, Mexico City, Sanya and

, 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 Pascal Wehrlein (born 18 October 1994) is a German-Mauritian racing driver for the Porsche Formula E Team. He previously raced in Formula One for the Sauber and Manor teams. Holding dual nationality of Germany and Mauritius, he raced under the ...

=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 Alexander George Lynn (born 17 September 1993) is a British racing driver. He most recently competed in Formula E, driving for Mahindra Racing in the 2021 season, winning the second race of his home ePrix in London. Lynn has also competed full- ...

. 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 The 2021–22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is the eighth season of the FIA Formula E championship, a motor racing championship for electrically powered vehicles recognised by motorsport's governing body, the Fédération Internation ...

, 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.

Other appearances

D'Ambrosio featured in the first episode of the Amazon motoring show "

The Grand Tour ''The Grand Tour'' is a British motoring television series, created by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and Andy Wilman, made for Amazon exclusively for its online streaming service Amazon Prime Video, and premiered on 18 November ...

" as a test driver putting in lap times for the

LaFerrari LaFerrari, project name F150 is a limited production mid-engine mild hybrid sports car built by Italian automotive manufacturer Ferrari. LaFerrari means "The Ferrari" in Italian and some other Romance languages, in the sense that it is the " ...

, Porsche 918 and

McLaren P1 The McLaren P1 is a limited-production mid-engine plug-in hybrid sports car produced by British automobile manufacturer McLaren Automotive. Debuted at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, sales of the P1 began in the United Kingdom in October 2013 and all ...

. The episode attracted nearly two million viewers in its first weekend of release.

Personal life

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

Otto von Habsburg Otto von Habsburg (german: Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius, hu, Ferenc József Ottó Róbert Mária Antal Károly Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Lajos Gaetan ...

Racing record

Career summary

^† 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) ^† 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)

Complete GP2 Asia Series results

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

Complete Formula One results

( key)

Complete Formula E results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:D'Ambrosio, Jerome 1985 births Living people Belgian Formula One drivers Belgian racing drivers Belgian people of Italian descent GP2 Series drivers Auto GP drivers Belgian Formula Renault 1.6 drivers Formula Renault Eurocup drivers Italian Formula Renault 2.0 drivers French Formula Renault 2.0 drivers FIA GT Championship drivers International Formula Master drivers GP2 Asia Series drivers World Series Formula V8 3.5 drivers Virgin Racing Formula One drivers Lotus F1 Formula One drivers International GT Open drivers Blancpain Endurance Series drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers Formula E drivers Manor Motorsport drivers Stock Car Brasil drivers Graff Racing drivers Euronova Racing drivers Tech 1 Racing drivers Cram Competition drivers DAMS drivers Dragon Racing drivers Mahindra Racing drivers Campos Racing drivers