Jerome d’Ambrosio has acknowledged the importance of his teammate Timo Glock to the Virgin team.
German Glock, despite having only 65 grands prix under his belt, made his debut in 2004 and has also raced with the benefit of Toyota’s huge budget until the Japanese marque pulled out of F1 in 2009.
The 29-year-old switched to the startup Virgin outfit last year and he was recently re-signed through 2014.
Belgian rookie d’Ambrosio acknowledged Glock’s leading role.
"He is the reference of the team, and therefore mine as well," the 25-year-old told France’s Auto Hebdo magazine.
Virgin Racing - and fellow 2010 startups Team Lotus and HRT - are yet to score a point formula one.
D’Ambrosio replaced 2010 Virgin driver Lucas di Grassi this year, but it is believed he is likely to stay put for next season.
"I am really happy with the team and I think they are happy with me as well," he said, "so at the moment we are speaking (about 2012) and hopefully we will be able to work together again."