Brendon Hartley is no longer a Formula E driver after a statement by the GEOX Dragon team confirmed the two parties have split as the Kiwi focuses on his World Endurance Championship challenge.
The team will seek a replacement driver for the final six races of the championship in Berlin.
“I want to thank Brendon for all of his efforts, and I wish him success in his future endeavours, he has been immensely helpful in the development of our powertrain and overall program,” said team owner Jay Penske.
The partnership is rumoured to have ended at the end of last week.
Hartley scored two points in a tumultuous debut season in the all-electric formula after penalties at the season-opening round at Diriyah promoted the Kiwi to ninth.
The Dragon team have been dogged by ill-fated reliability and an underperforming car, highlighted by Hartley’s teammate Nico Muller only having finished two of the opening five races with a best result of 12th.
Hartley’s race engineer Jakob Andreason also split with the team after only the second event of the season at Santiago.
“I appreciate the opportunity to compete with GEOX Dragon, and really enjoyed my time with the team, and wish them every success for their future in Formula E,” Hartley said in Dragon’s statement.
The 30-year-old was often overlooked in the paddock courtesy of his poor results which added little to his already accomplished racing CV.
The next WEC round is not slated until August 13 at Spa which takes place the following weekend of the final Formula E race of 2020 making Hartley’s split all the more surprising.
It is a similar predicament facing Nissan Formula E driver and Toyota WEC stablemate Sebastien Buemi who will leave Berlin for Spa immediately after the final race.
Sergio Sette Camara has appeared as the likely candidate to replace Hartley for the remaining races.
Dragon is the Haas team of Formula E, meaning they go backwards in races.