Former Formula 1 and Formula E driver Jérôme D’Ambrosio, has announced his departure from the newly named Monaco Sports Group (MSG), ahead of Season Nine and the start of the Gen3 era.
Following the conclusion of Season Eight, MSG took full control of ROKIT Venturi Racing, who D’Ambrosio was Team Principal for last year. He joined Venturi as Deputy Team Principal in 2020, before taking the step up at the start of last season. The former Mahindra Racing driver took over from Susie Wolff, who also left the team following the conclusion of the recent season.
Whilst Wolff and star driver Lucas Di Grassi were expected to leave Venturi before it was taken over by Maserati, D’Ambrosio’s “amicable” departure has left some surprise.
He led the Monegasque team to second in the Constructors’ Championship last season, which was the team’s most successful to date. MSG truly appear to be attempting a complete clean slate before Gen3 gets underway, with very little of the team’s Venturi roots remaining.
D’Ambrosio wished the team the “very best” going forward, whilst he pursues “new opportunities”.
“After two incredible seasons, my journey with the team comes to an end. As I move forward to pursue new opportunities, I would like to thank everyone in the team for their work and dedication which has led us to our most competitive campaign to date last season. I would also like to thank Susie, Scott and José for having entrusted me with leading the organisation as Team Principal.
“It has been a privilege and I could not have wished for a better environment to evolve in after transitioning from my racing driver career. I wish everyone in the team the very best as they will be moving into a new era of the Championship.”
Scott Swid, Principal Owner & Chairman, Monaco Sports Group, shared his thanks to D’Ambrosio, for his “invaluable contribution”.
“We thank Jérôme [D’Ambrosio] for his invaluable contribution over the past two seasons, in which he has played a crucial role in helping to bring our vision for the team to life.
“On a personal note, I’m extremely proud of what we have achieved together, and by putting the best people in place, we’ve built a strong team with bold aspirations for the future. With this in mind, I’m excited to see what the future holds for both him and us as we edge ever closer to the start of Formula E’s next generation of competition this January.”
MSG’s upcoming season is looking increasingly unsettled, with the team yet to announce their driver line-up. Whilst Edoardo Mortara is remaining through the team’s transition into becoming Maserati (known but yet TBA), they are yet to announce who will partner the Swiss driver.
It is heavily believed that former Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team driver, Season Seven World Champion and current Mercedes-AMG Formula One Team Reserve driver Nyck de Vries will line-up alongside Mortara; however, should he get a seat at Williams Racing, Scuderia AlphaTauri or the BWT Alpine F1 Team, then this could leave MSG looking for a new driver.
