ABT CUPRA confirms Frijns departure

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ABT CUPRA confirms Frijns departure

ABT CUPRA have confirmed that Robin Frijns will move on from the team after spending the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship with the returning squad.

Robin Frijns ABT CUPRA

Team boss Thomas Biermaier confirmed to ProSieben - Formula E's German broadcast partner - prior to the Hankook London E-Prix Round 16 that the Dutchman would indeed be moving on from the Kempten team after the Season 9 finale.

"Robin will be leaving us," he said. "His plans for the future don't quite match ours, and you'll have to ask him where he's heading!" ABT then confirmed the news formally post-race, saying: "After an open discussion, ABT and Frijns have agreed to terminate the contract so that he can concentrate on his future tasks."

“Robin was, is and will always remain a friend and member of the ABT family,” added Biermaier. “He played an important role in our comeback with his great experience, although it was a difficult year for him after the accident at the start of the season. Now we wish him all the best for the new challenges.

Frijns

"The nice thing about us was that we received a relatively large number of inquiries," Biermaier continued to ProSieben. "That surprised us but it also shows that our standing here - although we're at the bottom of the table - the interest is relatively high. That was nice feedback. Maybe it's going to Switzerland!

"There are former racing drivers there who care a lot about use the environment and do a lot of sustainability work. Maybe one of those will be in our car soon."

The team added that it expects to decide who will take over the cockpit alongside Nico Mueller - who outscored his teammate and indeed managed a top eight finish in the final round of the season - in the coming weeks. 

Frijns' Season 9

The experienced Dutchman's 2022/23 didn't go as well as either party would have hoped. The ABT CUPRA's Mahindra powertrain lacked pace and efficiency at times but Mueller comfortably outscored his teammate on his return to the series.

Frijns did, of course, miss four races after fracturing his hand at the season-opening Mexico City E-Prix.

He wound up Season 9 with just two points-scores and six total to Mueller's 15, though Julius Baer Pole Position on home soil for ABT in Berlin was a real highlight.

The Dutchman is rumoured to be taking up a seat at his old outfit, Envision Racing with 2022/23 Drivers' runner-up Nick Cassidy heading to Jaguar TCS Racing in place of the departing Sam Bird - again, according to paddock whispers, which were rife over the London weekend with driver market silly season in full swing.