Jerome D’Ambrosio is poised to depart his role as Mercedes Driver Development Director and follow Lewis Hamilton in making the move to Formula 1 rivals Ferrari.
D’Ambrosio, who drove in F1 for the Marussia outfit in 2011 alongside a stand-in appearance with Lotus in 2012, was the Team Principal of Venturi Racing in Formula E.
The Belgian then sealed a position within the Mercedes F1 operation from the beginning of last term, overseeing the German marque’s selection of upcoming talents.
It had been touted that D’Ambrosio was being lined up as a potential successor to Toto Wolff once the Austrian calls time on his long tenure at the helm of Mercedes.
However, sources have informed Autosport that D’Ambrosio will complete a switch to Ferrari once his Mercedes deal expires at the end of the current F1 campaign.
The reasoning behind D’Ambrosio’s change comes amid his desire to return to mainland Europe, with the ex-F1 racer’s latest chapter set to see him relocate to Italy.
It is expected that D’Ambrosio would slot in alongside Jock Clear to help manage the Ferrari Driver Academy, with the Briton’s role extending to F1 trackside work.
D’Ambrosio’s rumoured move is not related to Hamilton’s bombshell news but will come as a blow to Wolff, who had hinted at an increased presence for the 38-year-old.
When asked about the potential for D’Ambrosio to take his place in the future, Wolff had said: “He’s looking after the young driver programme in very close cooperation with Gwen [Lagrue, Mercedes Driver Program Advisor], who has been doing it very successfully over the last few years.
“With Gwen’s team we are looking at grassroots motorsports from the early stages of go-karts, and this is where Gwen is very active, and he was the one working with James [Vowles]. And now within the Brackley structure it’s Jerome who has taken that over, and he’s looking at things and there’s plenty of plenty of scope with what James did beyond the strategy work.
“So I see Jerome growing in the organisation, but at this stage, that’s his area.”
