The rumour was touted in the BBC commentary during the highlights, just after Grosjean hit the wall. The three-race contract thing was news to me, though I knew he'd had some sort of restriction on it (I'd assumed before this that it was simply an expediated exit procedure if Lotus was unhappy or something).
Davide Valsecchi is Lotus' reserve driver, so there would be an Italian on the grid for the first time since the start of last year if the rumour becomes true. He's not experienced with cars or tyres, so the threshold for Romain keeping his seat has to be pretty low. (Kovalainen's auditioning to re-enter Caterham, and while I think he has a good chance of getting in there, it's unlikely to be quite this early in the season).