Bruno Senna will replace Nick Heidfeld at Renault for the final eight races of the season, according to Eddie Jordan who broke the news on the BBC website.
Whilst the news is yet to be confirmed by the team, speculation about the switch has been mounting in recent weeks with both Eric Boullier and team owner Gerard Lopez criticising the German for his less than expected results.
“He has not provided the leadership we wanted,” said team principal Boullier. “He hasn’t taken hold of the team.”
Whilst Lopez added: “There is no doubt that we expected more from him and we are disappointed.”
The 34-year-old is just two points ahead of his much less experienced teammate, Vitaly Petrov, who will remain at the team until the end of the season.
Senna meanwhile hasn’t competed in a full race weekend since the 2010 Abu Dhabi GP when he drove for Hispania, though he was handed the opportunity to drive during FP1 in Hungary, in place of Heidfeld.
It’s believed the nephew of the great Ayrton Senna has managed to raise enough sponsorship to secure the race seat, forcing Heidfeld, who is salaried, out of the team.
