D’Ambrosio to replace Grosjean at Monza 04 Sep 2012
Lotus have announced that reserve driver Jerome D’Ambrosio will compete for the team at this weekend’s Italian round alongside Kimi Raikkonen. D’Ambrosio replaces Romain Grosjean, who received a one-race ban after causing a crash at the start of Sunday’s Belgian event.
“My desire for 2012 has always been to get back into the seat of a Formula One car so I am grabbing this opportunity with both hands,” explained the 26 year-old Belgian. “Monza is a fantastic circuit and I can’t wait to take to the track on Friday.
"As third driver I have worked with the team at every Grand Prix, attending all the briefings and meetings that the race drivers do, so I am well prepared in this respect. Monza is a superb circuit, but it is also quite a technical one so I am not underestimating the task ahead of me.
"I want to reward the faith that the team has in me with a good haul of points from the race. I will hand the wheel back to Romain after Sunday’s race and I hope that this one showing in Italy will allow me to show my capabilities fully.”
D’Ambrosio raced for Virgin (now Marussia) last year but struggled for pace in the uncompetitive MVR-02. He sampled Lotus’s E20 for a day back in May at the in-season Mugello test and had a seat fitting in the race chassis on Sunday night in Belgium.
“When we signed Jerome as our third driver we signed a man who is highly motivated, fresh, talented and who contested the full 2011 season,” explained team principal Eric Boullier. “We hope that this will pay dividends when he drives the car this weekend in Monza.
"We know that Jerome is well integrated into the team and that he did a good job when he drove the E20 at the Mugello test. Now he has the challenge of a Grand Prix at the challenging circuit of Monza, in a car which is capable of finishing on the podium.
"One thing is for sure, he’s half Italian and I think I know which driver the spectators will support apart from Fernando (Alonso)! It’s a tough task for Jerome, but we will be supporting him in every way to achieve a good result.”
D’Ambrosio will be back on track on Friday for the opening practice session of the Formula 1 Gran Premio Santander d'Italia 2012.
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