Ahmed was due to drive for the ThreeBond squad this year after finishing ninth in last year's European F3 standings with Hitech GP after failing to assemble the budget to race in FIA F3.

The 19-year-old Briton took part in the Suzuka pre-season test earlier this month, ending up with the eighth-best time.

However, earlier this week, ThreeBond issued a brief statement on its Facebook page stating that it had been forced to axe Ahmed due to a "major problem" related to his contract.

It added that it expects to name a replacement driver for the Briton soon, and also clarified that Ai Miura's place in the team is unaffected.

TOM'S driver Ritomo Miyata - runner-up behind the dominant Sho Tsuboi in last year's standings - topped the Suzuka test by less than a tenth of a second ahead of one of Ahmed's rivals from European F3 last year, Sacha Fenestraz.

Suzuka plays host to the opening round of the new season on April 20-21.