Lewis Hamilton will join forces with his new team Ferrari at the end of the 2024 season.
Jerome d’Ambrosio, Mercedes’ current driver development director, is reportedly going to follow Lewis Hamilton’s lead and join Ferrari. The Silver Arrows’ star driver will join forces with the Italian constructor in 2025, marking the end of a 12-year collaboration with the team that earned him six World Championships.
Following the news of Hamilton’s Ferrari switch, PlanetF1 reported that the deal included a no-poaching clause, which would potentially prohibit the 39-year-old from easily moving key Mercedes personnel to Maranello in 2025.
While crucial figures like racing engineer Pete Bonnington and trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin will undoubtedly be targets for Fred Vasseur and the Ferrari leadership, they have yet to be convinced to go from Brackley to Maranello. However, one significant player is about to take the leap.
According to Motorsport Nextgen Auto, d’Ambrosio will leave Mercedes at the end of the 2024 season to join Hamilton at Ferrari, where he will lead the driver development program.
While d’Ambrosio is anticipated to depart Mercedes at the end of the current season, the article suggests that the 38-year-old could make the transition sooner than expected, with the 2024 summer break mentioned as a possible timetable.
D’Ambrosio’s rise through the motorsports managerial ranks has been significant. The 38-year-old raced in Formula One with Marussia in 2011 before spending six seasons on the Formula E circuit from 2014 to 2020. After retiring from driving, he became Venturi Racing’s deputy team principal.
D’Ambrosio’s rise through the motorsports managerial ranks has been significant. The 38-year-old raced in Formula One with Marussia in 2011 before spending six seasons on the Formula E circuit from 2014 to 2020. After retiring from driving, he became Venturi Racing’s deputy team principal.
In his present position, d’Ambrosio works closely with Mercedes’ young drivers, including Kimi Antonelli and Doriane Pin, as they negotiate their debut seasons in Formula Two and F1 Academy, respectively.
He even took on one of the most important duties in F1 last season, replacing Toto Wolff as interim team principal at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix while the Austrian was undergoing knee surgery. However, his time with Mercedes appears to be drawing to an end as he prepares to live in Italy.
