D`Ambrosio joins Lotus as F1 reserve

London: Belgian Jerome d`Ambrosio will be reserve driver for Lotus this season after making his race debut with Virgin last year, the former Renault Formula One team said.

The 26-year-old will attend all of the grands prix and be ready to stand in for returning 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen or France`s Romain Grosjean if required. "It`s an exciting next step in my career," said D`Ambrosio, who was a test driver with Renault in 2010 and has been replaced at Virgin, now renamed Marussia, by French rookie Charles Pic. "I contested a complete season in F1 as a race driver for a smaller team where I learnt a lot about Formula One," added the Belgian, who is managed by the Luxembourg-based Gravity Sport outfit run by the Lotus team owners Genii. "Now, I have the opportunity to work with one of the top teams with great potential for my future development." Bureau Report