Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said Jerome d’Ambrosio was “weighing options” and refrained from finishing the suggestion that he could keep Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari.
F1’s new ‘dumb season’ began before a wheel had even turned thanks to the surprise announcement that Mercedes’ seven-time world champion Hamilton would be a Ferrari driver from 2025.
Having won six world championship titles with Mercedes since joining in 2013, Hamilton has a full-fledged figure in the team and now that his long career is at Ferrari, he has sparked speculation about the option for other Mercedes names to make the transfer as well.
Mercedes has already told PlanetF1. com that Hamilton has a “no poaching” clause in his contract, which would prevent the British driver from recruiting key members of the Mercedes team to replace him when he signs for Ferrari.
One of the members of the Mercedes team who could sign for Ferrari in the not-too-distant future is Jerome d’Ambrosio, Mercedes’ director of motor progression; Hamilton’s move to Ferrari had no bearing on that final decision.
Last season, d’Ambrosio decided, through team boss Toto Wolff, to help him update on Grands Prix where Wolff is not physically present, with the Austrian saying the former Venturi Formula E team boss had “the right profile” to take them on. .
Although the day-to-day jobs at Wolff’s place are delegated to various senior executives, adding d’Ambrosio, he rarely misses the races — he didn’t compete in the 2023 Japanese and Qatar Grands Prix — but he’s still completely concerned about the team’s operations those weekends.
D’Ambrosio is under contract with Mercedes until at least the end of 2024 but has been linked with a move to Ferrari, potentially to update Jock Clear as director of the Ferrari Driver Academy.
This hypothesis predates Hamilton’s move to Ferrari, and d’Ambrosio’s alleged decision to move to Maranello has no bearing on Hamilton’s career change.
Wolff asked about d’Ambrosio’s long media run at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where Wolff showed that for “personal reasons” d’Ambrosio was “weighing options”.
“I think he’s with us right now and the stage is more private because he’s comparing characteristics on what to do and I think that’s all he communicates,” Wolff said.
“But everything’s fine, everything’s fine, let’s see what happens. “
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Although d’Ambrosio is a new call-up on the Mercedes scene, having only joined it in 2023, the once-dominant Silver Arrows have suffered the loss of several key and long-time Americans in recent years, which has been speculated to be a major contributor. . to its fall from first place.
Design guru Aldo Costa, engine boss Andy Cowell, lead strategist James Vowles and technical director Mike Elliott are among the starters, Wolff, under pressure, had gained a “different confidence” that Mercedes can once again be the most productive in Formula 1, with Red Bull. and Max Verstappen now dominates the process.
“This time I have another confidence in the organization,” Wolff said, “because on a safe level you meet all the requirements of the unknown. “
“I feel like we’re going to win.
“Is that enough to beat a Max in a Red Bull?No, it’s not. But at least to be back in a position to fight for podiums and be there, yes, we’re 100 percent confident that we’re going to make it. “
However, the start of F1 2024 has not been easy for Mercedes, as George Russell’s fifth position in Bahrain was his result in the first two rounds of the season.
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