How deputy team boss Jerome d’Ambrosio experienced Formula 1 Sunday in Spielberg and why he wasn’t “thrown in at the deep end” at Ferrari
It wasn’t team boss Frederic Vasseur who was responsible for Ferrari’s performance at the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg on Sunday, but his deputy Jerome d’Ambrosio – and he didn’t feel “thrown in at the deep end” by Vasseur’s last-minute absence, but well prepared.
“I talk to Fred 20 times a day at the factory and at the race track. We always agree. Besides, I’ve already been to many races this year and sit with the team at the pit wall. The bottom line is that we didn’t do much differently than usual,” says d’Ambrosio.
He himself did not “act as team boss” at the Red Bull Ring, emphasizes the former Formula 1 driver. “I just fulfilled my role as deputy, and that’s part of the job. If Fred is unavailable, then I step in.”
Second-best result of the season in Spielberg
Under deputy team boss d’Ambrosio, Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton managed to secure third and fourth place, the team’s second-best result after Monaco: Ferrari scored 27 World Championship points in one go and took second place in the constructors’ standings from Mercedes.
It went “well,” said d’Ambrosio. Ferrari has a “strong team, good people in the background, good engineers and mechanics,” and everything went smoothly. “That’s why it was pretty straightforward for me.”
Vasseur is back at Silverstone
However, it is unlikely to happen again: Ferrari team boss Vasseur is returning to the racetrack this coming weekend. He says: “I’m personally looking forward to being back at the track with the team and enjoying the very special atmosphere that only Silverstone can offer.”
Ferrari needs to carry the “positive momentum” from Spielberg into the upcoming races. The goal in Silverstone is “another clean weekend,” explains Vasseur.
What d’Ambrosio brings to Ferrari
D’Ambrosio is thus taking a step back into the second row and can work behind the scenes to make Ferrari even better. After all, just like Hamilton, he brings experience from Mercedes to Maranello.
How has this been noticeable in Ferrari’s day-to-day business so far? D’Ambrosio says he has already had “many discussions” about how the traditional Formula 1 team can improve. “That’s our job: we get up in the morning, drive to the factory and think about how we can improve in all areas of the team.”
“When Lewis joined, we discussed everything, just as we do with Charles, who also has a wealth of experience,” says d’Ambrosio. “We discuss this regularly within the team to find the best way forward together.”
