On the eve of Virgin’s first ever night race at Singapore, the team announce they have signed Belgium Jerome D’Ambrosio in an evaluation role for the last five races.

The 25 year-old will run in car number 25 for the 90 minute opening session this weekend alongside Timo Glock, before handing over the reins to Lucas di Grassi for the remainder of the race weekend. He will continue to do this at Japan, Korea and Brazil.

Jerome will then go on and take part in the young driver test sessions taking place in Abu Dhabi following the conclusion of the season finale.

The Belgium has some relevantly good experience as he has spent the last four seasons competing in the GP2 Series, prior to which he raced in the GP2 Asia series. He even took the seat that was once held by Di Grassi as the Renault F1 Team’s reserve and test driver. Jerome was obviously delighted to get his first chance in Formula one, he commented:

“My ultimate goal has always been to race in Formula 1 and I am delighted to get a step closer. I won’t disappoint them (Virgin). This drive is a fantastic opportunity and I am looking forward to helping the team in every way I can, as well as gaining experience on four of the most demanding tracks of the F1 calendar.”

But this decision to bring in some new young talent will surely arise more questions about the future of their current number two driver, Lucas di Grassi. The team currently have the option to extend his services for the 2011 season, but there is no guarantee he will be given this opportunity.

This will only put more pressure on the young Brazilian as he knows now that he has a genuine threat to his F1 future. There is no question that Timo Glock will remain at Virgin for the rest of his contract, next two years, as his experience is priceless.

We will have to wait and see if Lucas can handle the pressure and raise his game under the stars in Singapore, or will the lights go out on his F1 career.

*

Click on the images below to see how McLaren and Ferrari fare in the battle of the Formula One WAGs!

Related posts: