Renault team boss Eric Boullier has suggested that ousted race driver Bruno Senna would have the "opportunity" to rejoin the team as a reserve driver in 2012, should the Brazilian fail to find a seat elsewhere on the grid.
Senna was dropped by the soon-to-be Lotus F1 team after taking over from Nick Heidfeld from the Belgian Grand Prix onwards in 2011.
The Brazilian has been replaced by Romain Grosjean for the 2012 season, with the Frenchman set to partner Kimi Raikkonen.
And with few options for Senna to cling to at other teams for next season, Boullier has suggested that the team could give him a reserve driver role should he fail to find alternative employment.
"We have two racers, we will see about a third driver later on," he was quoted as saying by the excitingly-named French publication Le Nouvel Observateur.
He went on: "This is an opportunity for Bruno if he does not find a seat elsewhere...we could consider the role for Fridays [in practice] as well."
Senna's only two obvious options for next season are at Williams and former employer HRT, though he is thought to be an outside bet at best for either drive.
The Brazilian himself has admitted that he could accept a role as a third driver within an F1 team in order to save his career.
"To take a third-driver place it would have to be a similar type of role to what certain people had this year with driving on Fridays," he told Autosport this week.
"That allows you to be active and do something relevant with the team. It would have to be with the right team, but it could be an option."
Meanwhile, another ousted Renault driver Vitaly Petrov is believed to have a number of options for next year, thanks to his Russian sponsor money.
A report from the Turun Sanomat newspaper in Finland has linked him with a role at Williams, HRT or even Marussia for 2012, as well as a slightly implausible link with Toro Rosso.
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