Nico Hulkenberg's days on the Formula 1 race grid appear to be over.
Having lost his full-time race seat after 2019, and subsequently becoming an Aston Martin reserve, the 34-year-old had left the door open for a potential racing return in 2022.
However, the last remaining seat on the grid for next year is at Alfa Romeo.
"There are no discussions with them," Hulkenberg revealed to Bild newspaper.
"That would have been the last option for a firm seat in 2022 after all the other cockpits have been taken."
Therefore, he admits that his F1 career is almost certainly over.
"Life goes on," he agrees.
"I have some exciting enquiries from other series and I'm in no hurry to make a decision. I'll sort through everything and see how it looks."
As for the actual Alfa Romeo candidates for 2022, there appear to be a handful of them - with Nyck de Vries and Guanyu Zhou at the top of the list.
"I have no idea who my teammate will be," Valtteri Bottas told the Finnish broadcaster MTV at Monza.
"I just hope it will be a good and fast driver, and someone I can really work with to help the team. I've heard there are still several options for that."
