Former Formula 1 driver Jerome D’Ambrosio is enjoying his new role as deputy team principal for the Venturi Racing Formula E team as much as his career as a full-time racer.
D’Ambrosio who was formerly driving for Marussia and Lotus on the F1 grid switched to Formula E back in the inaugural 2014 Formula E championship held in Beijing. He has managed to do the 68 out of the 69 Formula E races up to date after failing to start in the second round of Saudi Arabia last season due to the unreliability of the Mahindra FE car that he was driving then.
Later on October last year, he announced his formal retirement from professional driving to take up a managerial position at Venturi, reporting to team principal Susie Wolff.
When asked by Autosport.com if he was enjoying his new role as much as his racing career, he said: “Yeah, actually I do.
“It’s been a fantastic opportunity for me, and it’s been amazing to be able to walk away from the driver role into a new role and such an exciting one with such a short transition period.
“I still have the racing side of things – I’m a competitor. I want to win and I want to get that feeling of competition.
“At the same time, I’m able to touch all the other aspects of motorsport, which I really enjoy as well and always did.”
The Monaco-based Venturi squad finished ninth of the 12 teams last season and has replaced 11-time F1 race winner Felipe Massa with FE rookie Norman Nato for 2021.
The team has also been sold to an investor group led by Scott Swid and Jose Maria Aznar Botella, son of the former Spanish prime minister and FE co-founder Alejandro Agag’s brother-in-law.
The 35-year-old added, “I feel like I can contribute in a different role but just as much, if not even more, than I used to in the past as a race driver.
“I joined Venturi and there were some challenges last season and I think we’ve worked hard to address a lot of them and to progress and to fight at the front for the podiums when we can. That’s our goal.”
