Jerome d'Ambrosio began karting in 1997 before graduating to compete in Belgian Formula Renault. He won three Belgian karting titles, including Formula A and the Junior Monaco Kart Cup. The Belgian then teamed up with ex-Formula 1 driver Thierry Boutsen in his first year in Formula Renault. D'Ambrosio joined the Renault F1 driver development programme in 2004 whilst racing in the French Formula Renault championship. Following a number of years moving through the ranks to Formula Renault 3.5 and the Formula Master Series, D'Ambrosio made the step up to GP2 with the DAMS team. He competed alongside Kamui Kobayashi in the Asian Series before landing a seat for a full season a year later. After securing his first win in Monaco, d'Ambrosio joined Renault F1 as a test driver before taking part in a number of Friday practice sessions with Virgin Racing. In 2011, he made his Formula 1 debut with Marussia. D'Ambrosio showed consistency in his first season and recorded a best place finish of fourteenth, higher than his team-mate Timo Glock. D'Ambrosio subsequently signed as a reserve driver for Lotus F1 and replaced Romain Grosjean at the Italian Grand Prix in 2012 following a one-race ban for dangerous driving.