Pastor Maldonado hopes to stay at Lotus even if Renault buy team

Pastor Maldonado says he hasn't started making alternative plans for next season as he hopes his contract at Lotus is honoured for 2016 even if Renault buys the team.

With the financially-troubled Enstone outfit at the centre of all sorts of speculation as the 2015 season enters its final months, with Renault thought to be in the closing stages of completing a takeover, the future of the team's existing drivers, Maldonado and Romain Grosjean, remains uncertain.

While Grosjean, a rumoured target for Haas, revealed in Singapore on Thursday that he had "made my decision" for next season, Maldonado's position at Enstone appears more precarious.

Signed by the cash-strapped team at the end of 2013, Maldonado, who brings a budget of around £30m with him from Venezuelan backers PDVSA, has insisted in recent weeks that he has a contract to stay next year.

Should Renault complete their purchase, the French manufacturer would likely be less dependent on Maldonado's wealthy backers should they have other driver options.

However, even under new ownership, Maldonado expressed hope that he would stay on to rekindle a past relationship with Renault from his time at Williams in 2012-13 and junior series.

"I have a very good relationship with the team, the guys who work here at the track and at the factory. For sure the plan is to stay," Maldonado said.

"But I've been working with Renault in the past a lot of years together and we have a good relationship as well.

"They are very strong. Maybe they are having problems with their engine, but nothing that they cannot solve. Whatever happens I hope and wish the best for the team."

Asked if he was yet casting his eyes elsewhere on the grid at the few remaining seats left up for grabs, Maldonado replied: "Not at the moment because we have a contract for next season. So there is no point to look around."

And when quizzed on whether his contract would stand under Renault ownership, the 30-year-old said: "It depends, but it should be like that."

With the Renault takeover thought to be nearing completion, Lotus were given a reprieve by the High Court in London on Friday, with the case brought against them by HMRC for unpaid tax adjourned until September 28.

Maldonado says Lotus, who struggled for pace on Friday in Singapore, are trying their best to make up for their financial issues on the track.

"The team have a lot of problems with the financials," he added. "You can see the problem on having the tyres, the problem of having no upgrades in the car, and this is because we are leading a tough time economically.

"We are not the only ones to have these kind of problems, but in the race team we are working very hard to try and for compensate on the track."