Senna would accept third

The Brazilian's priority is to land one of the remaining race seats for 2012, but in order to stay in F1 he would consider taking a reserve seat provided it included running in free practice.

"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," Senna said.

"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."

Senna did not rule out staying on with Lotus Renault in a third driver capacity, resuming the role that he had during the first half of last season.

However, it is not clear whether the team would be in a position to offer track time, especially with the inexperienced Grosjean and F1 returnee Kimi Raikkonen needing as much running as possible.

"There is still a chance of that," said Senna. "I still have a good relationship with the engineers and everybody at the team.

"But we would need to discuss terms and see what else is in the market."

Lotus team principal Eric Boullier confirmed that Senna is an option for the third driver role.

He is keen to have a driver with F1 race experience as a backup for the year and Senna would fit the bill.

"Bruno could be a possibility if he doesn't find a drive elsewhere," Boullier said.

"He's very good with his technical feedback and we would need to see how we could give him some running on Fridays. But we would need to balance that with the team because we have two drivers who are new to the current regulations."