Lotus confirm Jerome d’Ambrosio will drive Lotus E20 at Mugello – Formula 1 news
Lotus confirms Jerome d’Ambrosio to drive the E20 at the coming Mugello test.
D’Ambrosio drove for Marussia now known as Virgin, in 2011. He was not able to secure any points, but that was mostly due to the lacking Marussia car. He was replaced by Charles Pic after the final race of the 2011 season.
He will be driving the car on the first day of the test on May 1st 2012. Afterwards Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean will take over from him on the second and third days respectively.
“Jerome has been very patiently attending all the races and has been a conscientious and regular visitor to Enstone since he was announced as our third driver,” team principal Eric Boullier said. “It's clear he has been very eager to get behind the wheel
and it will be invaluable for us as a team that he gets this opportunity. We have given him a full day to get to grips with the E20, and look forward to receiving his feedback from the test. We had a good result in Bahrain, but as always we need to keep pushing
forward. Mugello will give us an opportunity to try out a few new parts and hopefully make another step forward.”
D’Ambrosio said that he is very excited at the opportunity and an amazing feeling for him. He thanked Lotus F1 Team for giving him such an opportunity to gain experience in the E20. He talked about the car and said that it is a great car. He added that he
has had links with the team since his rookie days in Abu Dhabi in 2010 and that is why he feels very comfortable with all the crew.
D’Ambrosio emphasised the importance of him getting an opportunity to drive a Formula 1 car after six months. The third driver role with a major team was necessary for his career and he has learned a lot working with the team at Enstone and continues to
learn.
The E20 has scored two podium places in Bahrain with Raikkonen finishing second and Grosjean third, and d’Ambrosio said that this fact adds to the delight he is going to get out of the Mugello test.
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