Jérôme d'Ambrosio (pronounced [ʒeʁom dambrɔzjo]; born 27 December 1985) is a Belgian former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from 2011 to 2012.
He was formerly the Team Principal of Venturi Racing in Formula E. Jérôme d'Ambrosio was born on 27 December 1985 in Etterbeek, Brussels, Belgium.
D’Ambrosio graduated to single-seater competition in 2003 and won the Belgian Formula Renault championship with five wins, driving for Thierry Boutsen Racing.
[2] 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.
After leaving the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, d’Ambrosio switched to Euroseries 3000 with Euronova Racing and finished fifth in the final standings, despite missing the first half of the season.
[6] He placed 21st in his first FP1 appearance at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, finishing two-tenths behind experienced team-mate Timo Glock.
[8] 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.
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.
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.
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.
[14] D’Ambrosio joined Dragon Racing to contest the inaugural season of the FIA Formula E Championship, partnering Oriol Servià and Loïc Duval.
[16][17] D’Ambrosio scored back-to-back podiums at the double-header 2015 London ePrix to finish fourth in the Drivers' Championship with 113 points.
[19] 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.
[22] 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.
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.
[28] 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.
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.
[34] In 2013, d'Ambrosio married the American-Chilean model Natalie "Natty" Sifferman at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in La Hulpe, Belgium.