Molina, who won three DTM races during his seven-year stint in the DTM with Audi, was left off the Ingolstadt marque's 2017 roster amid the series cutting down to six cars per manufacturer – and is now evaluating what the next step in his career will be.

"There are several options," the 27-year-old Spaniard told Motorsport.com. "We need to analyse which ones fit my driving style best, and the type of cars. But it's still early to decide.

"We are evaluating where we could end up and be competitive, and that will take some time. We have been in contact with several championships and I hope there's a final decision soon."

A Formula Renault 3.5 frontrunner prior to his DTM switch, Molina admits a return to single-seaters could be a possibility, with the all-electric Formula E series firmly on the Spaniard's radar.

"It [Formula E] could be one of the options, but the [2016-2017] championship is already underway, so it will be hard for this season. I'm not ruling it out.

"I said before that I had options to be there this season already, but I had a contract with Audi and I couldn't make such a radical change. So it could be an option - but not for this year, because everything is settled."

DTM exit "a shame"

Molina expressed regret about his departure from the DTM after seven seasons, but said that it did not come as a huge surprise, given the troubles of Audi parent company VW Group.

"The possibility was there because the Group is not in the best situation. They first ended the WEC project, then Volkswagen decided to quit the WRC officially...

"We knew it was hard times for a couple of years with all that happened and that security was not guaranteed.

"My contract was finishing this year and there was a restructuring from Audi and it was our turn, like it was other drivers' turns in other years. It was our turn because of the coincidence that the contract was ending and because there were other drivers who still had contracts from other programmes."

While his 13th-place overall finish in 2016 was three places lower than his personal best in the DTM, Molina reckons this past season was his best in the series.

"It's a shame [to be leaving] because I think that, from a performance level, it was a great year, the best I had in the DTM."

However, the Spaniard reckons the DTM cutting down to 18 cars from 24 is justified: "I think that as long as it keeps the championship alive, all the changes are important. The DTM is a very competitive championship, where the costs are very high - and that's one way to reduce them.

"It's obvious that having 18 cars is not ideal, but if the goal is to help the championship, to keep the competitive level up, then it can be positive."

Interview by Sergio Lillo