Ferrari's purchasing campaign continues on all fronts. News has leaked out in Jeddah of a new figure destined to take over the leadership of the Academy, the Maranello program dedicated to the scouting and growth of young people.
What created curiosity was the name of the chosen one, namely Jerome D'Ambrosio, a thirty-eight year old Belgian with a career in single-seaters behind him which also saw him present in Formula 1 in 2011 with Marussia and in 2012 at the Italian Grand Prix with Lotus.
Frederic Vasseur with Jerome D'Ambrosio: was he contacting him to take him to Ferrari?
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
D'Ambrosio returned to the Formula 1 paddock full-time last season, as head of the Mercedes junior program very close to Toto Wolff. Twelve months ago there was talk of his possible candidacy in the role of right-hand man of the Mercedes team principal, then since the beginning of the year his figure has no longer been present in the garage, an absence noted in Bahrain and confirmed in Jeddah.
“Jerome takes care of the program for young drivers in close collaboration with Gwen Lagrue – Wolff explained in 2023 – they work together and are a constant eye on the world of motorsport, starting from karting”.
According to several sources, the contract that tied D'Ambrosio to Mercedes is coming to an end (at the end of the season) and his future should be in Maranello at the helm of the FDA. After the departure of Laurent Mekies and Marco Matassa, the Ferrari Driver Academy has been under the control of Jock Clear since the beginning of the year, but the British engineer's agenda also includes direct commitment on the racing fields of the Formula 1 world championship.
Jock Clear, FDA manager
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Hence the probable need to have a full-time figure at the helm of the program which brought two young people from the Academy to the wheel of the two Formula 1 single-seaters for the first time this weekend.
#Ferrari #D39Ambrosio #Hamilton #FDA
