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Frijns a free agent as Caterham contract expires

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Robin Frijns has confirmed his partnership with Caterham has come to an end following the expiration of his contract.

Frijns joined Caterham as reserve driver at the start of 2014 and took part in practice sessions for the team in Bahrain and Great Britain, but was overlooked for a one-off drive in favour of Andre Lotterer in Belgium and Will Stevens in Abu Dhabi this season .Frijns is a well-regarded young driver, with his career highlight the 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 championship where he beat Jules Bianchi to the title. But his lack of funding - which saw him dropped midway through the GP2 season in 2013 - limited his chances in 2014, with Roberto Merhi also handed practice drives by Caterham.

Caterham's F1 future remains doubtful but a revival in time for next season looks increasingly unlikely with every week its administrators fail to find a new buyer. The Dutchman used his official Twitter account to confirm the news, which means he is now a free agent, though the full-time roles in Formula One have all been filled.

I'd like to announce that my partnership with Caterham ends today. Many thanks to all the people in the team and all the best for the future

— Robin Frijns (@RFrijns) December 15, 2014

His management added: "Our partnership with Caterham expires today, since the team obviously hasn't exercised their option to extend the contract. We cannot deny that the year has developed in a disappointing way after all, but we now have to focus on creating a better situation for next year. However, no decision about Robin's future has been made yet."

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