Regalia quits Hilmer's GP2 team

Force India Formula 1 team affiliated driver Facu Regalia has walked away from the Hilmer Motorsport GP2 team after a difficult start to the season.

The 22-year-old, runner-up in GP3 last year, has failed to score a point so far this season, registering a best finish of 17th and retiring from four of the eight races.

Regalia said that his struggles so far this year gave him little choice but to end his deal with Hilmer.

"After [the last round in] Austria I made the decision to stop competing with the team," he said. "I spoke to [team boss] Franz Hilmer and I gave him a number of reasons: the team wasn't able to have a competitive car, I had setup problems, and engine issues throughout the season."

The Argentinian added that he feared he would lose his association with Force India if he had not taken action.

"What I know is that, with my results in the championship so far, my presence in this programme was over as of September due to lack of results," he added. "Personally, I need a car to fight for top places, as I proved last year."

Regalia, who said that he would have raced for DAMS, Racing Engineering, ART Grand Prix or Campos Racing if he'd had a bigger budget for this year, added that he was considering proposals to race in Formula E.

Hilmer, which won four races as a rookie team in 2013 with Robin Frijns, Jon Lancaster and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs, is one of two teams yet to score a point in GP2 this season.