Lotus have been working hard at replacing Kimi Raikkonen who will miss the final two races of the season to have back surgery.

After being rejected by Nico Hulkenberg yesterday, the team approached Michael Schumacher who also turned down their offer to make an Formula One comeback at the Austin and Brazilian Grands Prix.

Sabine Kehm, Schumacher’s spokeswoman, confirmed the approach to the 44-year-old, who quit F1 last year after a three-year comeback with Mercedes following his earlier retirement from Ferrari.

“Michael’s performance against Nico (Rosberg last year) and Nico’s performance against Lewis (Hamilton this year) made a lot of people aware of how good Michael still was,” she said.

“Plus, he is still very fit. But he just feels so good in his new life.”

She added that Schumacher has been approached on several occasions since he’s retirement.

Lotus are expected to announce an agreement with former Renault, McLaren and Caterham driver Heikki Kovalainen later this morning.