Kevin Magnussen is in talks with both Renault and Manor over potential seats for the 2016 season.
The former McLaren driver has been without a team since he was dropped at the end of 2015, having been demoted from race driver to reserve at McLaren a year earlier. By the time the team confirmed Magnussen would not been retained, the majority of the seats on the grid had been taken.
With Renault's takeover of Lotus being dragged out over a number of months until it was completed in December, Romain Grosjean opted to leave the team for Haas, resulting in reserve driver Jolyon Palmer being promoted to a race seat alongside Pastor Maldonado. F1i understands Magnussen has been in talks with those at Enstone over the role, but will be keen for a clear progression plan after his recent experience at McLaren.
However, F1i has learned Magnussen also retains a chance of securing a race seat with Manor, which has yet to announce any of its drivers for 2016. The Dane's experience would be beneficial to the team which is expected to move further up the grid this year as a result of a new power unit deal with Mercedes and technical partnership with Williams.
Magnussen faces a lot of competition for a Manor seat, with Will Stevens and Alexander Rossi - who both drove for the team in 2015 - also in talks, while Rio Haryanto has been linked with a drive thanks to significant funding.
F1 has remained Magnussen's primary focus despite tests in both Porsche's LMP1 car and a Mercedes DTM car towards the end of last year.
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