Jérôme d’Ambrosio deserves to be on the starting grids according to Boullier

Last week, Jérôme d’Ambrosio confirmed that he would not be driving the Lotus E20 during the Belgian Grand Prix tests: (It) is a collective decision that I fully understand given the team’s interests, (he) explained the Belgian driver.

In 2011, despite an encouraging first season at Virgin Racing alongside Timo Glock, the Belgian driver could not continue the adventure with the British team, which had meanwhile become Marussia. In 2012, Jérôme d’Ambrosio found refuge at Lotus, where he served as the third driver, occasionally taking the wheel of the Lotus E20 and primarily working on the Enstone simulator as most shadow drivers do, from Gary Paffett to Jules Bianchi, including Davide Rigon and Sébastien Buemi: Continuing for a second season in the same context would be a failure, confides Benjamin Mignot, who is in charge of the Belgian driver with the Gravity pool, in the columns of the newspaper Le Soir. Jérôme was already not known last year to be a pay-driver, and that hasn’t changed. I would be lying if I told you that sponsors are rushing in, but the groundwork undertaken last year continues, albeit differently. Last year, we endeavored to debunk the clichés that make F1 seem an inaccessible world while trying to play the Belgian card. Today, we are primarily working to ensure that our contacts can enjoy F1 through Jérôme. I am unable to give you an exact figure of the money we’ll have if tomorrow an opportunity with a team arises. But today, the debate is less financial. The proof: two teams requested interviews this weekend at Spa. They are well aware that Jérôme is not better off than last year. His image remains good. Moreover, if his name was mentioned at one point to replace Massa at Ferrari, it was not made up out of thin air!

Thus, Jérôme d’Ambrosio states that, as it stands, there is nothing new for 2013 but for Eric Boullier, director of the Lotus team, Jérôme has his place on the grid, but opportunities are lacking. For the Frenchman, Jérôme d’Ambrosio cannot find a place partly because some drivers, at the end of their careers, are holding onto their seats: As long as the dinosaurs of F1 do not leave the paddock, there is not much we can do. Money is no longer necessarily at the center of discussions. Finally, I will choose my words carefully: the more there is, the more Jérôme will be attractive for a mid-field team.

The Frenchman, who recently confirmed that Romain Grosjean and Kimi Räikkönen would still be in the driver seats at Enstone in 2013, confides that Jérôme d’Ambrosio will have his place at Lotus next year and does not intend to see him return to the grid at any cost: « Returning to a backmarker team would make no sense. For the moment, he is our third driver and meets our expectations. Having him with us long-term as a reserve driver would be the team’s comfortable option. He has the talent and is very well integrated with us. But he needs to race. Moreover, if he remains our third driver next year, it will be with an additional program, that’s certain. Otherwise, he will either have the opportunity to race for another team, or we will have to consider redirecting his career… »

Despite everything, D’Ambrosio does not consider himself among the worst off: « I am neither more nor less frustrated than at the beginning of the year. I would even say that having driven one morning at Mugello with this year’s car, and one day at Jerez with a 2010 F1, I got more than I hoped for. People talk a lot about Friday testing, but with what the team is currently going through, I perfectly understand why they won’t let me participate. Driving at Spa would have been amazing, of course. Spa with such a car must be worth at least three times Korea! » The Belgian is also « convinced that [his] value has increased since [he] has been with a “winning team” »: « I learn a lot about the way of working. Driving is just one aspect of being an F1 driver. »

On this front, D’Ambrosio also believes he could perform as well as Romain Grosjean behind the wheel of the Lotus E20: « I have the level to do the same style of work, that’s clear. But F1 doesn’t deal much with “ifs” and “maybes”. What I know is that I can do the job in F1. It doesn’t matter if it’s here or elsewhere. I have no doubt about that, but the opportunity needs to be found to do it… »

One thing is sure for the successor of Jacky Ickx: « I have both my feet in F1 and I don’t want to take a toe out. »