D’Ambrosio to drive for Lotus at Mugello

2012 F1 testing

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Lotus have confirmed reserve driver Jerome D’Ambrosio will get his first taste of the E20 in next week’s test at Mugello.

D’Ambrosio, who raced for Virgin in 2011, will drive the car on the first day of the three-day test on May 1st.

Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean will run on the following two days.

D’Ambrosio said: “It’s an amazing opportunity for me, and I’d like to thank Lotus F1 Team for giving me the chance to experience the E20; it’s a great car and I can’t wait to drive it.

“I know the team from my rookie day in Abu Dhabi in 2010, and I’ve felt very comfortable at Enstone this year which I’m sure will be a big help. Kimi and Romain needed time in the car during the winter after two years away, so the fact that this test has been put on the calendar after the first four races of the season gives me an opportunity to drive

“It will be very valuable for me to get back into a Formula 1 car after six months, which has felt like quite a while. I’ve said all along that a third driver position with a top team would be much better for my career this year, and I’m starting to see the benefits of that strategy. I’ve learnt a lot so far with Lotus F1 Team, and this is just the beginning.”

The test will give the team valuable additional development mileage as they missed four days of pre-season testing following a suspension failure at the Circuit de Catalunya.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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10 comments on “D’Ambrosio to drive for Lotus at Mugello”

  1. The photo is such a mug shot lol. Just need a headline beneth that reads something silly, like; ‘Man found in clown suit grinding on lamp post’! haha.

  2. I wonder if we will see D’Ambrosio do a Hulkenberg at the end of this season and find a drive somewhere? He impressed me at what was Virgin, he managed to keep his head down and out of trouble which is always a great attribute for a rookie, especially one at the back of the field.

    1. @andrewtanner If you saw the F1 forum on the BBC, Jamie Algushuari seemed fairly confident and upbeat about finding a seat next year. Not sure where though.

      1. @nick-uk It would be really interesting to see if Alguersuari could come back and be competitive. I think it would be pretty good to see just how he performs without Red Bull backing and if they made a mistake or not.

  3. I don’t get why some people like D’Ambrosio, he’s completely uninspiring.

  4. GL to Jerome, lucky him get to drive E20 (I bet Alonso is dreaming about it) :) All the best!

  5. Every moment of testing when allowed should be focused on Primary drivers. No one knows the cars better than KIMI or ROMAIN….The purpose of a test is to maximize data acquisition and interperate that into race performance. It makes absoluetly no sense to waste a day with D’Ambrosio a noted successful backmarker, also a master at the moving chicane.

    1. I read that Hamilton may drive at this test. They want to understand the tyre degradation, and setup better during race conditions. Hamilton said he needed to do that himself.

    2. To be honest, kimi never was the one to like testing. If Enstone bring a significant amount of new bits, the first day will be spent by Jerome doing shake-down and fixed velocity aero tests, not what you need your regular drivers for.

  6. Grosjean always looks so cheesy in pictures!

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