Prost to exit e.dams after New York season finale

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Nicolas Prost is to leave the Renault e.dams team at the end of the current 2017/8 ABB FIA Formula E Championship season.

The French driver - son of four-time Formula 1 world champion Alain, who was previously a co-owner of the team - will have been at edams for 42 races. His last appearance with them will be in the New York ePrix doubleheader on July 14/15.

"There are so many great memories, like my three race wins and the three team titles," said Prost on Tuesday.

"I am not only happy to have been with Renault e.dams these past four seasons, I am also thrilled to have been present at the very beginning of one of the most innovative motor racing championships of all time."

Team owner Jean-Paul Driot paid tribute to the 36-year-old, calling him "one of the pillars" of e.dams in its first four years.

"With [team mate] Sébastien Buemi, they formed a complementary duo of drivers and both have been very involved in the collective performance," added Driot.

"We have had some great times together, especially the three Team titles that have rewarded the efforts of both of them."

However, the fourth season of the all-electric championship has been a disappointment by comparison.

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The Renault works team is currently finding itself out-classed by the customer Techeetah team, with Jean-Eric Vergne favourite to win this year's title in New York.

Meanwhile e.dams is only sixth in the team standings, while Prost himself is 18th in the drivers championship with just seven points. He hasn't finished in the top ten since the Santiago ePrix in Chile in February.

Driot admitted that e.dams needed to shake things up before it launched its new campaign for 2018/9, which will see it partner with Nissan when it takes over Renault's manufacturer license.

"The time has come to turn the page, after an often frustrating season 4 and at the dawn of a new chapter in the history of Formula E," he said.

"We all wish Nicolas great success in his future endeavours."

Prost said that he understood and accepted the team's decision.

“Of course, I regret season four hasn’t gone as well, and we believe that it is best that we go our separate ways.

“I wish e.dams all the luck in the world," he added. "I am busy working on my new programme that I hope to announce soon."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.