D’Ambrosio set to leave Mercedes and join Hamilton at Ferrari

The ex-grand prix racer was team principal at the Venturi Formula E team before he joined Mercedes at the start of 2023 as its driver development director.

Since then, the Belgian has been tasked with looking after Mercedes’ young driver programme alongside Gwen Lagrue.

However, beyond those responsibilities, it was thought that d’Ambrosio could eventually form part of Wolff’s long-term succession plan and could be a candidate to take over running of the squad eventually.

Speaking at the start of last year, Wolff said that while he would focus on young drivers in the short term, it was possible that d’Ambrosio could take further responsibilities in the future.

“He's looking after the young driver programme in very close cooperation with Gwen, who has been doing it very successfully over the last few years,” said Wolff.

“With Gwen’s team we are looking at grassroots motorsports from the early stages of go-karts, and this is where Gwen is very active, and he was the one working with James [Vowles].

“And now within the Brackley structure, it’s Jerome who has taken that over, and he's looking at things and there's plenty of scope with what James did beyond the strategy work. So I see Jerome growing in the organisation, but at this stage, that's his area.”

Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal and General Manager, Scuderia Ferrari, talks to Jerome d'Ambrosio, Driver Development Director, Mercedes-AMG

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

However, sources have indicated that d’Ambrosio is to leave Mercedes when his current contract expires at the end of this season.

It is understood that the decision was prompted by himself and his family wanting to return to mainland Europe.

D’Ambrosio is being lined up for a move to Ferrari, where he could take over running of the squad’s young driver programme – the Ferrari Driver Academy.

The FDA is currently under the control of Jock Clear, who was appointed in the role at the start of this year.

However, Clear has extensive responsibilities at the F1 track so any extra assistance would most likely be welcome.

Should the move be confirmed, then d’Ambrosio will arrive at Ferrari at the same time as Lewis Hamilton, who announced his switch to the Maranello squad earlier this year.

While d’Ambrosio’s potential move is not directly linked to that of Hamilton, his potential presence will be welcome in providing a familiar face at Maranello.