Federico Gastaldi happy to have Renault back

Lotus deputy principal Federico Gastaldi has said that having Renault staff back at the team's headquarters in "much more than positive".

The French manufacturer had signed a letter of intent to buy the struggling constructor, but reports since suggest that a deal to see Renault take over is far from finalised.

However, Gastaldi has revealed that Renault employees have been working with the team at their Enstone base since the Singapore Grand Prix.

He told F1i: "For us it's much more than positive, having Renault on board again.

"As I keep saying, it's a gigantic, multi-national company. They have their own procedures, we cannot dance faster than the music but they have done as much as possible to keep it moving as fast as possible. Obviously it takes time.

"They are working. They have done the usual process when one company wants to buy another company. Due diligence is done, approved, presented to the board. We started working in Singapore with the technical guys. People from administration, people from marketing have been in Enstone since Singapore."

Jolyon Palmer will race for Lotus next season, replacing Haas-bound Romain Grosjean.