LONDON, July 16 - Former Indy 500 winner Gil De Ferran has left the under-performing Honda Formula One team, where the Brazilian had been sporting director.

De Ferran, 39, who also twice won the U.S. CART series with Penske Honda, said in a team statement on Monday that his role had not turned out as he had hoped.

Honda said his departure was effective immediately.

"My decision to leave has not been an easy one," said De Ferran, who joined the team in 2005. "I simply feel that I came to this team to fulfil a particular role and it has not materialised as I had hoped."

Honda, race winners in Hungary last August with Briton Jenson Button, have scored just one point in nine races this season.

They have been recruiting heavily on the engineering and aerodynamic side in recent weeks while De Ferran's job has always been loosely defined.