Pastor Maldonado has revealed that he is "close" to securing a deal with Lotus for next season.
The 28-year-old has been in talks with a number of teams since deciding to leave Williams at the end of the 2013 campaign, which came to a close in Brazil at the weekend.
"We are quite close," Maldonado told Autosport. "We have been working very hard since many months ago and now we are just waiting for confirmation - all the stuff that you need to do with contracts.
"But until you sign you never know. I prefer to sign and to be 100% sure before we make an announcement."
Maldonado joined Williams in 2011.
