"Ferrari is a religion for many Italians, " claims D'Ambrosio as he reflects on his new role at the Scuderia
Having served as deputy team principal of Ferrari in Formula One since 2024, Jerome D'Ambrosio has revealed that the atmosphere around Ferrari is unique as the Italian marque is "a religion for many Italians."
On the back of a strong final leg of the season last year, Ferrari rolled out the SF-25 from which it had hoped to be able to fight for the championship titles.
However, the Italian team began their campaign with a disappointing season opener in Australia with an eighth and tenth-place finish, for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton respectively.
While the seven-time F1 champion won the Shanghai F1 Sprint on only his second weekend with Ferrari, both him and Leclerc were disqualified from the main race due to skid wear and an underweight car respectively.
The Scuderia achieved its first podium of the season in Jeddah courtesy of Leclerc, who finished third at Saudi Arabia. Since then, the Mongasque has collected a further four podium finishes and secured hist first pole position of the season at the Hungaroring.
Ferrari currently find themselves second in the teams’ standings, 299 points behind the field-leading McLaren outfit. However, third-placed Mercedes are only 24 points away from the Scuderia with ten rounds still to go.
Having served as deputy team principal of Ferrari in Formula One since 2024, Jerome D'Ambrosio has revealed that the atmosphere around Ferrari is unique as the Italian marque is "a religion for many Italians."
“Life in Italy is different. Professionally it's going well, but Ferrari is a separate team because things are experienced in a very different way compared to my past experiences.
"Ferrari is a religion for many Italians. In the morning when I go to get coffee near the factory, I get a lot of questions about how the weekend went. Everyone experiences Ferrari in a unique way. There are people in front of the factory every day.”
Reflecting on the unique atmosphere surrounding Ferrari, D'Ambrosio has revealed that everything is "amplified" around the Maranello-based outfit to which noted the team members need to get used to.
“Everything is amplified around Ferrari, in good times and in bad times. And you have to try to filter all this out. Being approached by the fans is always nice, but what I like the most is to hear a 'Ferrari force' and to have the support of the fans under all circumstances.”
