The Telegraph said deputy boss Federico Gastaldi "is now working with team owner Gerard Lopez on a solution." The Times correspondent Kevin Eason added: "Lotus executives were negotiating with Pic's lawyers for a settlement on Monday but it is clear the financial pressure is beginning to tell". Part of the reason for the delay might be the contractual dispute between Renault and its current premier F1 team partner Red Bull, who are said to want to break the 2016 engine supply deal. But according to Spain's AS sports newspaper, Renault is insisting that Red Bull respect the deal, or at least pay a whopping EUR 40 million penalty for breaking it. Not only that, anything other than an amicable solution could also cost Red Bull up to EUR 80 million in the form of its current title sponsorship by Infiniti, the luxury division of Renault-owned Nissan. All the while, Renault is busily deciding its next steps in F1, with ambassador Alain Prost said to have commenced parallel talks with Force India at Spa.