Renault are unlikely to name Robert Kubica's temporary replacement until after the tests at Jerez and Barcelona.
While it is unclear how long Kubica will take to recover from the injuries he sustained in a crash in Italy it has been suggested by medics that he would be out of action for an entire year.
Should Kubica be sidelined for the whole season the team will work to sign an experienced driver with Nick Heidfeld, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Bruno Senna all linked with the seat.
"Our strategy will be to try out a young driver to get kilometres under his belt and prepare for the years to come. Should Robert be out for the entire season, then it will normally be a more experienced driver to do the entire season, to develop the car, and everything else," team owner Gerard Lopez said.
Any decision on who will take the drive will not be made until after the team has had the chance to test the car at Jerez and Barcelona, but Lopez has confirmed there are a number of drivers in the frame.
"We must wait for the Jerez tests now, and thankfully the Barcelona ones too, and see how the car is going, and how the driver - who will start the season and maybe ending it too - is doing. We don't know," he told IVG.it.
"There are drivers who have had good races, for example Nick Heidfeld. We all know that Nick is rather good, but we don't know what level he is in now, we don't know how he does with our car. Same goes for Vitantonio Liuzzi, same goes - I don't know -for Bruno Senna, who last year was in a team with a car that could do nothing.
"It's very difficult to say, because it's a combination between car and driver. With Robert, since we know him very well, we were sure we could do something this year. Without Robert we don't know. Should Robert not come back this season, I think we'll take the decision to go for a driver that can win... but we don't know yet."