They won't have a B-team until they sort the engines out. They've definitely made progress, even if they're still staring down the barrel of a Q1 exit - they could keep pace with the mid-pack in Shanghai.
I doubt they'll buy into a team, but they'll want someone who can be competitive. The catch is that, assuming for the moment that they want both Vandoorne and Matsu****a to progress, all of the teams touted as potentially being for sale - Lotus, Force India, and Toro Rossi - have at least one good driver on the books. Conversely, Manor could take both, but would risk being uncompetitive without investment.
If they were willing to supply two teams, then they could split Vandoorne and Matsu****a up. Alternatively if Ferrari were to drop Raikkonen or Raikkonen were to retire, the team would likely pick up someone like Grosjean (especially if Lynn is beaten in GP2). That would open up a seat at Lotus, and with some incentive, Maldonado could be given a one-way ticket back to Caracas, especially since Lotus is now reportedly financially stable. But that would hinge on other moved opening up seats, and I am sure Honda would rather be proactive in getting seats for drivers.
