Sergio Perez is set to be unveiled as the second Lotus driver for 2016, Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport is reporting on Tuesday.
Even though the Renault buyout is said to be imminent, it is believed Frenchman Romain Grosjean is departing the Enstone team for Haas-Ferrari.
At the same time, Mexican Perez was thought to be staying at Force India next year, but the Silverstone based team has confirmed only Nico Hulkenberg for 2016 so far.
Also a former McLaren and Sauber driver, 25-year-old Perez retains strong Mexican backing, headed by the well-known billionaire Carlos Slim.
Lotus has already announced that Pastor Maldonado, the controversial Venezuelan driver with reportedly $50 million in PDVSA backing in tow, is staying in 2016.
A vacancy at Mercedes-powered Force India could pave the way for German Pascal Wehrlein to make his F1 debut, although the DTM driver has also been linked with Manor.