Jolyon Palmer to stay with Renault for F1 2017 season

The Briton has won the battle for the sole seat that was up for grabs following last month's appointment of Nico Hulkenberg.

Renault has opted for Palmer given his consistent improvement in performances in recent months following a troubled start to life in F1.

Jerome Stoll, president of the firm's sporting arm, said: "Jolyon has shown his hunger to develop with us as the team grows and we have been impressed with his increasingly strong performances on track as the season has progressed."

Palmer said he was "over the moon" to secure a second season on the F1 grid.

"I can't wait to reward the team's faith in me on track," he added.

"Having worked out of Enstone since 2015 I can fully appreciate the development of the infrastructure this year.

"This means I share the excitement of the team looking to 2017 and our new car.

"For me, it's been a steep learning curve driving in Formula 1 and I know that I am performing better than ever, and that there's still more to come. There is tremendous drive and enthusiasm in Enstone and Viry looking to next year and I am honoured to be part of this."

The French manufacturer, led by team principal Frederic Vasseur, had been evaluating a number of options in recent weeks as partner for Hulkenberg.

Palmer's 2016 team-mate Kevin Magnussen will join Haas next season, replacing Esteban Gutierrez alongside Romain Grosjean.

Another Renault target was Esteban Ocon, who spent a period as reserve driver with the team earlier this season before joining Manor in August, but he is poised to sign for Force India.

With those three seats now filled, it leaves just vacancies at Sauber and Manor for next year.

Sauber is expected to retain Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr, while Pascal Wehrlein is likely to stay on for a second year with Manor.

Should all that come to fruition then it would leave a single seat at Manor available.