Lotus are eyeing a “tasty driver” for their second seat after confirmation that Romain Grosjean will depart for Formula 1 newcomer Haas next season.
The Enstone team, which is set to become a Renault works team from 2016, has already confirmed Pastor Maldonado but are seeking a second driver to replace the outgoing Grosjean.
Deputy team principal Federico Gastaldi says discussions will now take place to find a “tasty” replacement with an announcement in due course.
“We know that we can now publicly say bonne chance to Romain who is headed to pastures new next year,” he said. “He’s been a real asset to us over the years so we’ll certainly miss him.
“We know we have Pastor confirmed for one seat and we know that there are quite a few tasty drivers available out there and we’re doing everything to ensure that we’ve got a desirable race seat, which needs to be filled.
“What happens next is that there’ll be a number of discussions in a number of places then at some point we’ll have an announcement to make.”
Meanwhile Maldonado says he has “no preference” as to his team-mate is next season.
“Honestly I have no preference. Throughout your career you work with a variety of team-mates so you get used to working with different people.
“Ultimately, everyone is trying to make the car faster and perform as well as it can for an event, so you’re all working to the same objectives.”
