Jerome d'Ambrosio, director of driver development; Toto Wolff, team principal and CEO; Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG.
Before beginning work at Mercedes as its driver development director at the beginning of 2023, the former grand prix racer served as team principal for the Venturi Formula E team.
Alongside Gwen Lagrue, the Belgian has since been assigned the responsibility of overseeing Mercedes’ young driver program.
Beyond those duties, d’Ambrosio was believed to be a potential candidate for managing the team in the long run and to be included in Wolff’s long-term succession plan.
In an early-year speech, Wolff hinted that although d’Ambrosio would initially concentrate on training young drivers, he would eventually expand on his role.
“He oversees the young driver program closely with Gwen, who has been running it quite effectively for the past few years,” Wolff stated.
“We are looking at grassroots motorsports with Gwen’s team, starting with go-karts. Gwen is very active in this area and was the one collaborating with James.”
And Jerome has now assumed control of that inside the Brackley system. He is examining matters, and James’s work goes far beyond strategy work. I can therefore see Jerome progressing within the company, but for now, that’s his domain.
According to insiders, d’Ambrosio will be leaving Mercedes at the conclusion of this season when his current contract expires.
It is acknowledged that his desire to return to mainland Europe, together with his family’s, was the driving force behind the choice.
D’Ambrosio is reportedly in the process of joining Ferrari, where he might assume leadership of the team’s young driver initiative, the Ferrari Driver Academy.
Jock Clear took over the FDA at the beginning of this year after being appointed to the position.
But Clear has a lot going on at the F1 track, so any additional help would probably be appreciated.
If the transfer is approved, d’Ambrosio will join Ferrari at the same time as Lewis Hamilton, who declared earlier this year that he would be joining the Maranello team.
D’Ambrosio may not be moving in tandem with Hamilton, but his presence at Maranello will be appreciated as he brings a familiar face to the team.
