Jerome d'Ambrosio

- Published on Dec 1st, 2010 by The Badger

Life Before F1
Jerome d'Ambrosio put his name on the map by winning the now-defunct Formula Master title in 2007, winning five races to finish comfortably clear of runner-up Chris van der Drift. In 2008 he graduated to GP2 with DAMS and scored two podiums to finish a decent 11th overall - ahead of team-mate Kamui Kobayashi. He stayed with the team for '09 but a strong start to the season was followed by a barren run at mid-term on his way to ninth (again ahead of Kobayashi). 2010 saw him stick with DAMS for a third year but he was unimpressive, a win in the reverse grid Monaco sprint race a rare highlight on his way to 12th in points. However he was running in first practice for Virgin Racing late in the year and was duly promoted to a race drive with the team for 2011.

F1 Career
As a rookie in an inexperienced team with a team-mate of proven quality the odds are stacked against d'Ambrosio for 2011. Can he overcome Timo Glock, or will he endure a similar showing to predecessor Lucas di Grassi? Much will depend on the pace of the Virgin car, but it's hard to see the Belgian overcoming Glock over the 20-race season.

And another thing...

• d'Ambrosio spent his entire GP2 career with the DAMS squad, meaning the Belgian has contested more races with one team than any driver in the series' history.