Pat Symonds rules out Formula 1 team return after Williams exit

Symonds had been Williams's technical chief since joining from Marussia in mid-2013, with the Grove team saying he signed a three-year contract when he arrived.

But Symonds came to an arrangement to leave Williams in December 2016.

The 63-year-old, a leading F1 engineer since first joining the paddock with Toleman in the early 1980s, has maintained his own consultancy business alongside his F1 duties.

"I've spent January looking around at what possibilities there might be," Symonds told Autosport's sister title Motorsport.com.

"I'm on holiday in February and during that time I'll decide on some of the things I might do, and then in March I'll start doing them.

"It's not really my intention to join another F1 team - I want to do different things now."

Symonds, who previously worked with F1 champions Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Nelson Piquet and was instrumental in Benetton/Renault's title successes, insisted his departure did not mean he had retired.

"What I'm surprised about is how much work there is out there," he said.

"I'm quite open-minded about what I'll do.

"I'm certainly not retired, and now I am away from the relentless intensity of F1 team work it will be nice to reflect and use my experience in a positive way for the sport."

Following Symonds's departure, ex-Mercedes man Paddy Lowe will join Williams in its most senior technical position early next month.