Frentzen, Audi part company.

In a move that comes as no surprise after the final round of the DTM season at Hockenheim, Audi has announced that it is parting company with driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

The German driver launched a scathing attack on Audi following the season finale, where he retired following contact with fellow Audi driver Mattias Ekstrom in the closing stages while running sixth, leading to Audi Motorsport head Dr Wolfgang Ullrich stating that talks needed to take place to see if there was a future for the Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline driver with the team.

After discussions between Frentzen and Ullrich, the decision was taken to allow the former Williams and Jordan F1 driver to leave the team, a move that Ullrich admitted was saddening.

"Unfortunately, Heinz-Harald was also unable to win a DTM race with Audi," he said. "Audi Sport and the race team of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline have been fully committed to enabling Heinz-Harald to achieve good results. It is a shame that the collaboration has come to an end after just one season."

Frentzen joined Audi at the start of the season following Opels decision to withdraw from the DTM, and secured podium finishes at Hockenheim during the season opener and also at Barcelona en route to seventh in the championship standings.