With Romain Grosjean set to miss this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix after incurring a one race ban for causing the horrific incident at the start of last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, it has been widely rumored that Lotus reserve driver Jerome D’Ambrosio will fill his vacant seat at Monza.
Jerome D’Ambrosio hasn’t started a Formula 1 race since last season’s finale at Sao Paulo, when the Belgian driver was racing for Virgin Racing (later rebranded as Marussia). However, after being replaced at the team by Frenchman Charles Pic, D’Ambrosio found himself in the reserve driver role at Lotus. The team allowed the Belgian driver to test during pre-season testing, however he has yet to reappear behind the wheel of the Lotus E20 all season.
Many teams up and down the paddock have allowed their reserve drivers to partake in the opening practice session of the weekend on a Friday morning, with the likes of Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Jules Bianchi (Force India) and Dani Clos (HRT) making regular appearances throughout the season. At the Belgian Grand Prix, many expected to see D’Ambrosio partake in the opening practice session, seeing as it would be his home Grand Prix. However, this failed to materialize, although the team did hint at a possible practice drive for D’Ambrosio later in the season.
After the frenetic and controversial opening lap at Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix, and with Romain Grosjean banned for one race for causing the melee, Jerome D’Ambrosio is now unquestionably the likely candidate to replace the Frenchman at Monza. Although nothing official has yet been confirmed by the team, this would provide D’Ambrosio with a superlative opportunity to show his worth to any potential future team on the grid, with the Belgian driver racing in a car which has so far finished on the podium nine times this season and is undoubtedly a race winning car in the right hands.
Jerome D’Ambrosio’s personal best finish in Formula 1 was 14th on two occasions last season for Virgin, something the Belgian star will be striving to emulate if he is chosen to stand in for Romain Grosjean. With Lotus strongly predicted for victory at both Spa-Francorchamps and Monza, due largely to the high speed nature of the tracks, a lot of weight could be on D’Ambrosio’s shoulders if he makes his F1 comeback.
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