Jerome d’Ambrosio says he is certain to secure a race seat for the 2012 F1 season – Formula 1 news
Jerome d’Ambrosio says he is confident of a race seat in 2012.
He said that a reserve seat is not what he is looking for at the moment and gunning for a race seat. He was replaced by Charles Pic at Virgin. The race seats for 2012 seem very limited, with all the major teams already decided on their drivers and the midfield
teams looking for pay drivers to get sponsorships.
D’Ambrosio’s manager Benjamin Mignot explained how they are dealing with his 2012 prospects,
“At this stage we are still in discussions with three of the five teams that have seats for 2012,” said Mignot. “To tell the truth, we have been able to raise so far a very reasonable amount for a very consistent driver -- to develop a car, it's not just
about money. I get calls daily but it (the market) is not going to move before the holidays. Even if it doesn't work out, there are third driver positions where you can even drive on the Fridays at grands prix.”
However, d’Ambrosio is very confident that there will be a seat for him in the 2012 season and is not looking to make deal with any team being considered as a reserve driver.
He further explained that being replaced is not an issue for him and does not affect him in any way. Romain Grosjean was signed by Lotus Renault and is adamant that he will find his way around a race seat.
D’Ambrosio has not been able to score even a single point for his team due to which Virgin finds itself at the bottom of the table in the constructors’ championship standing. Although the poor showing during the 2011 season may also be due to a less competitive
car but that is something that is being speculated to change as Marussia a Russian based company has taken branded the Virgin team and is looking to put more finances to get more performances.
It will be interesting to see who he finally signs up with, but looking from a neutral point of view it seems unlikely for him to find a race seat unless he can back it up with good sponsors.
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