Renault Ambassador and adviser Alain Prost says the French outfit s targeting improved performance next season order to attract a leading name to the team in 2019.
Renault has added Carlos Sainz to its driver line-up for next year, with the highly rated Spaniard racing alongside Nico Hulkenberg.
But Sainz will remain under the management of Red Bull as part of the drivers' deal to leave Toro Rosso, and could be called back into the bull pen if he results warrant a return.
Furthermore, several high-profile drivers could find themselves as free agents at the end of 2018, the likes of which include Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Daniel Ricciardo and Sergio Perez.
"The driver market is important and we are in position for the end of 2018 when it is a little bit open for discussion," Prost told Sky F1.
"At the end of 2018 there are a lot of drivers without contracts. We want to be better as a team, next year we will prove we are better than we are now and we want to be in the key market."
"We have Carlos next year but he is remaining in the Red Bull family. But if he performs well and wants to stay we will find a solution," he said.
Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Former AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost has cautioned Liam Lawson to tread carefully next season…
Former Formula 1 driver and Grand Prix winner Juan Pablo Montoya believes McLaren’s Oscar Piastri…
The race to return Formula 1 to the African continent is heating up, with South…
Two commemorative dates come together on this day, and both are embodied by this picture…
Red Bull Racing's 2024 F1 season presented a stark contrast to their crushing, near-perfect 2023…
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has revealed that the Scuderia’s 2025 Formula 1 car, code-named…