Marussia Virgin Racing has signed Belgian Jérôme D’Ambrosio to partner Timo Glock in 2011.
The 25 year old took part in an evaluation role with the team in the latter part of the season and Virgin reports that “his speed and excellent technical feedback saw him pass the test with flying colours”.
D’Ambrosio has spent the last four seasons competing in the GP2 Series, prior to which he raced in the GP2 Asia Series, International Formula Master, the F3000 Euroseries and Formula Renault. Alongside his 2010 GP2 commitments he has also held the role of Reserve and Test Driver for the Renault F1 Team.
His first official duties will commence early next year with the launch of the VR-02, Marussia Virgin Racing’s contender for the 2011 season. He will then commence pre-season testing alongside his 28 year old German team-mate Timo Glock in Valencia in February.
“Jérôme had been on our radar for quite some time as a driver we should seriously consider for a 2011 race seat,” said team principal John Booth. “We had followed his progress in GP2 closely and it was clear he was ‘one to watch’, but when we put him in the car for the four race weekends and the Abu Dhabi test he surpassed even our own expectations. He slotted into the team perfectly and everyone took a shine to him, including our partners and the media. Apart from his obvious skill at the wheel of a Formula One car, he is an immensely personable young guy who is a pleasure to have around. He has secured this seat absolutely on merit and I think coupled with Timo we have the perfect blend of youth, experience, speed and potential and we can’t wait to see what they can achieve together next season. Timo has done an excellent job for us in our debut season, in often challenging circumstances. There is no doubt that he has helped us to establish a strong foundation from which to develop the team and the package. We look forward to being in a much stronger position to deliver the car he deserves in 2011. Finally, I must thank Lucas di Grassi for the important role that he also played in establishing the team. He contributed a great deal to our development and we wish him every success in his future career, which we have no doubt will be an exciting one.”
Jérôme is the first Belgian Formula 1 driver for 15 years, the last being Bertrand Gachot, who last competed in a race with Pacific Grand Prix in Australia in 1995. He will be the 23rd Belgian to race in F1, following in the tradition of great names such as Jacky Ickx (114 races) and Thierry Boutsen (163). Gachot raced 47 times but the only other Belgian to have raced in more than 20 GPs was Johnny Claes, who competed in 23 events in the 1950s. Famous names like Olivier Gendebien (15), Willy Mairesse (13), Lucien Bianchi (17) and Paul Frere (11) were better known in sports car racing.
joeblogsf1 
Yeeees ! Go Belgium Go.
D’Ambrosio will turn 25 on 27th of December.
Spa might sell a few more tickets next year, but let’s face it it’d be hard for them to sell less … Hard to believe it was the most poorly attended race last year, especially when so many people rate it as their favourite track.
But I guess ticking a box on a web form is a long way short of actually attending the race.
Hi Joe,
I though Gachot wasn’t actually Belgian?
I’ll never forgive Gachot for going to prison in ’91 and opening up that slot at Jordan for Schumacher! 😉
It is complex: from WIki:
Born in Luxembourg as the son of a French European Commission official, Gachot raced under more than one one flag during his career. He initially competed with a Belgian FIA Super Licence, despite carrying a French passport. From the 1992 season onwards he changed to a French licence.
In a 1991 interview, Gachot said that “I am not really one nationality. I feel very much a European, but today I have to accept that a united Europe is not yet a reality. Certainly from a legal point of view.” Gachot’s helmet design features the circle of yellow stars on a blue background from the flag of Europe.
Not one I have really taken much notice of. Hop he’s worth it.
Karen
I was there at Spa this year, where I was sat and camping, there were more than enough people! The facilities there are pretty bad, especially at the campsite and that has put me off going again for at least a year or two. It’s a great circuit, but it’s expensive way to spend 4 days sat in the rain surrounded by exploding milkbottles and German techno for 20 hours a day. And the “F1 village” was a joke, especially when compared to the one at silverstone. Sadly, it’s not somewhere I would recommend that highly – the time sat watching the on-track action was great, the remaining time was crap. It doesn’t matter how good the track is if the rest of the experience is bad. I’m going to Montreal instead in 2011 (thank god there’s free accommodation there for me!)
Good for d’Ambrosio, but I for one thought that di Grassi deserved at least a sophomore season with Virgin considering the solid job he did for the team this year.
Joe, Bas Leinders has driven on Fridays in 2003 or 2004, so he is the latest Belgian F1 driver isn’t it?
Wichard,
A Grand Prix driver is a driver who drives in a Grand Prix. Not someone who does not qualify. That is a test driver.
Leinders got close, being a test driver. But that is indeed not the same. It’s been ages since we had a Belgian at the start of a GP. And I did think Jerome was doing fine in FP1 here in Spore so… We’ll see what it gives!
I feel really sorry for Di Grassi – who is a talented and technical driver who had a tough time on his debut series on a virgin Virgin team.
Jacky Ickx?
The truth is that this way, soon there will only be paying drivers in F1. This one took €8 mi. And Di Grassi, who is much, much more pilot, was walking.
I think the last Belgian in F1 was Philippe Adams in 1994 with Lotus during the Belgium GP
Sorry : the last “other” Belgian, except Bertrand Gachot.