Kevin Magnussen has been linked to a 2016 drive at Renault, with uncertainty hanging over Pastor Maldonado's place at the team.
Magnussen has been without a team since being dropped as reserve driver by McLaren at the end of 2015, which followed his demotion from a race seat the year before. The Dane has tested in Porsche's LMP1 car and for Mercedes in DTM since leaving McLaren but securing an F1 seat remains his main focus.
The Daily Telegraph reports Magnussen was at Renault's Enstone factory last week for talks with senior team executives. It may well be for the reserve role vacated by Jolyon Palmer's elevation to a race seat for this year, though political uncertainty in Venezuela and the huge drop in the price of oil could have ramifications on Maldonado's race seat.
According to the BBC, Maldonado's sponsor, Venezuela's national oil company PDVSA, is several weeks overdue on a reputed $50 million payment for the upcoming season. Maldonado was signed by Lotus before the Renault takeover was completed late last year.
A Renault spokesman is quoted as saying: "It's speculation at the moment. We have a contract with Pastor. That is the current situation. Who knows what could happen by Australia but, at the moment, we are going forward with Pastor and Jolyon."
Magnussen is also in discussions with Manor about a race seat. Manor is yet to confirm either driver for the upcoming season, which will see it become a Mercedes customer after using a year-old Ferrari engine in 2015.