Ferrari deputy team principal Jerome d’Ambrosio has revealed the one thing he must ‘be careful’ telling Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc after also joining the Scuderia.
D’Ambrosio is one of three figures the Maranello natives lured from Mercedes last year with Hamilton and technical director chassis Loic Serra. He now reports directly to team principal Fred Vasseur at Ferrari after holding the title of driver development director with Mercedes.
Ferrari announced their appointment of D’Ambrosio last May with the Belgian also taking up the position of the head of the Ferrari Driver Academy. It is a similar role to that he had with the Silver Arrows, where the former Marussia and Lotus driver was seen as Toto Wolff’s heir.
Jerome d’Ambrosio must ‘be careful’ trying to give Lewis Hamilton driving advice at Ferrari
D’Ambrosio and Serra both started their tenures at Maranello in October, ahead of Hamilton joining to replace Carlos Sainz in January. Serra quickly had Ferrari change how their 2025 car uses its Pirelli tyres as one of his first points of business upon succeeding Enrico Cardile.
Yet while D’Ambrosio already had a working relationship with 40-year-old Hamilton after the 39-year-old joined Mercedes in 2023, the Brussels native remains cautious to give the Briton or his new teammate Leclerc any driving advice as they are two of the best F1 has ever seen.
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“One has to be careful,” D’Ambrosio told The Race. “It’s easier for me than most people to build empathy for what a driver goes through and in that way, understand the dynamics between driver, team, what happens when you’re in the car and so on.
“But that’s where I need to draw the line and where it’s really important to draw the line because Lewis and Charles are some of the best drivers Formula 1 has seen.
“Lewis is the most successful driver F1 has seen. They don’t have anything to learn from anyone in terms of driving.
“One of the potential things I personally don’t [want is to] fall into the trap of is what you sometimes hear from ex-drivers is, ‘Back in my day it was like this’ or ‘I used to do this or that’. That’s absolutely not the case. The only thing that is relevant is the ability to build that empathy in an easier way.”
D’Ambrosio is the perfect aid to convey Hamilton and Leclerc’s messages at Ferrari
D’Ambrosio has one of the best CVs to be a Formula 1 deputy team principal and potentially a full team principal one day. He drove for Marussia in the 2011 season and the Belgian had a cameo for Lotus to replace the suspended Romain Grosjean at the 2012 Italian Grand Prix.
He also followed six seasons driving in Formula E with serving as a team principal for Venturi Racing upon D’Ambrosio retiring. Now, he delivers Ferrari a perfect aid to help Hamilton and Leclerc convey their messages with D’Ambrosio only five years removed from racing himself.
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