D’Ambrosio confirmed to drive the Lotus at Mugello

The third driver for the Lotus F1 Team, Jérôme D’Ambrosio, will have the opportunity to drive the E20 for the first time and will even be responsible for starting the sessions on the first day, before Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean take over on the second and third days, respectively.

For Eric Boullier, director of the British team, it will be an opportunity for the engineers to benefit from a new perspective while offering the Belgian a chance to discover the Lotus E20: « Jérôme has patiently attended all the races and has been coming to Enstone regularly since being appointed as our third driver. Naturally, he was eager to get behind the wheel and it will be an excellent opportunity for the team. We will give him a full day to get to grips with the E20, and we look forward to his feedback after the tests. We are coming off a great result in Bahrain, but as always, we must continue to move forward. Mugello provides us with a chance to try new parts and, hopefully, to take another step forward. »

For his part, Jérôme d’Ambrosio thanks the Lotus F1 Team for this wonderful opportunity: It’s a magnificent car, and I can’t wait to drive it. I have known the team since my young driver tests in Abu Dhabi in 2010, and I feel very comfortable in Enstone this year, which will certainly be a great help. This winter, Kimi and Romain needed track time to get back into the swing of things after two years away. So these tests, scheduled after four races, give me a chance to drive myself. Getting back behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car six months after my last contact with the track will certainly be beneficial. I had said that this year, for my career, having a third driver position in a top team would be much more interesting, and I am starting to see the benefits. I have already learned a lot with Lotus F1 Team, and this is just the beginning.

[From the official press release Lotus F1 Team]