Magnussen to Renault is now a done deal

Kevin Magnussen has now agreed a deal to race with the new Renault works team in the 2016 Formula 1 season, according to various well connected sources. (Note: Above is a manipulated photo)

The Danish newspaper BT reported: It's not yet official, but we reveal that Kevin Magnussen has already signed an agreement with the French car giant.

The report, referring to well informed sources added that it is expected that the former McLaren driver's new deal will be confirmed officially on Wednesday, when the international press gathers at the Technocentre Renault in Guyancourt, just outside of Paris.

If confirmed, 23-year-old Magnussen will replace Pastor Maldonado, who finds himself in the middle of a sponsorship dispute between Enstone based Renault - formerly Lotus - and his crisis-struck backer PDVSA.

PDVSA, the state-owned Venezuelan oil company, reportedly missed Renault's final deadline of last Friday to catch up on payments, as the oil price crisis threatens the country's entire economy.

"The only question now is whether Venezuela's government or economy will completely collapse first," the Washington Post declared in a report last Friday.

BT said the terms of Magnussen's deal, or whether his return to the grid is being powered by the CEO of the fashion chain Bestseller, fellow Dane Anders Holch Povlsen, are unclear.

But Marco Sorensen, another Dane and a recent Lotus test driver, told the Ekstra Bladet newspaper: "It's great for him (Magnussen) and for Danish motor sport. It's really big."

Another report ahead of Renault's Wednesday announcements is that the carmaker could use its new works foray to promote some of its other brands.

La Gazzetta dello Sport suggested that Infiniti, the luxury division of Renault's Japanese partner Nissan and the former Red Bull title sponsor, could now return to F1 in 2016.

Further speculaition is that Renault could revive the iconic Alpine name for its latest Formula 1 foray.

"Other brands may be involved," admitted F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul recently, according to France's Canal Plus, "but I will not say more about it because it is part of the official announcement."