F1, the separation between Lotus Renault and Nick Heidfeld is official

Nick Heidfeld and the Renault team have officially parted ways, the announcement coming after an agreement was reached today to end the controversy surrounding his position in the team.

The German driver, dropped by the Enstone team last weekend on the eve of the Belgian Grand Prix, was intending to take the matter to court at the end of the month to try to demonstrate that his contract was still valid.

However, following discussions between Heidfeld's and Renault's lawyers following Spa, an agreement was reached to put the matter to rest.

Speaking about the situation, Heidfeld said: “Obviously I'm disappointed to leave Lotus Renault GP in the middle of the season, I thought I could still make a great contribution to the team, but I have to see things as they are and now I want to think about the future.”

“We made the right decision by ultimately choosing to end our collaboration today. I would like to wish all my friends in Enstone a happy end to the season. One thing is certain. I will be back racing at the highest level soon.”

Renault team principal Eric Boullier added: “Our disagreement with Nick has been the subject of much media coverage in recent days, and we are pleased to have reached a quick and reasonable resolution to our already painful separation process, and that none of us wanted to go through a new legal hearing.”

“We are very grateful to Nick for the invaluable contribution he has made to the team. We certainly had good moments together, I particularly remember our podium in Malaysia. He is a very strong and determined driver and we wish him every success in the future."

Heidfeld had been signed by the team to replace the injured Robert Kubica. But despite taking a podium in his second race in Malaysia, the German failed to repeat the same results for the rest of the season and was often beaten by his teammate Vitaly Petrov in qualifying.

Boullier decided that the team needed a reshuffle after the summer break, so he decided to give the starting spot to Senna alongside Petrov as his new teammate in Belgium.

The news of Heidfeld's split with Renault means that Senna will most likely finish the season. The team had always said that its intention was to keep the Brazilian in the car for the rest of the season, and this has now been officially confirmed.

According to Autosport, Heidfeld is in talks to return to BMW to be part of the new DTM program next year.