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Prost Grand Prix

Coordinates:48°47′1″N2°4′2″E/ 48.78361°N 2.06722°E/48.78361; 2.06722
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Prost
Full nameProst Gauloises Blondes (1997)
Gauloises Prost Peugeot (1998–2000)
Prost Acer (2001)
BaseGuyancourt,Yvelines,France
Founder(s)Alain Prost
Noted staffBernard Dudot
John Barnard
Loïc Bigois
Noted driversFranceOlivier Panis
ItalyJarno Trulli
FranceJean Alesi
GermanyNick Heidfeld
GermanyHeinz-Harald Frentzen
JapanShinji Nakano
Czech RepublicTomáš Enge
Previous nameÉquipe Ligier
Formula OneWorld Championship career
First entry1997 Australian Grand Prix
Races entered83
Constructors'
Championships		0(best finish: 6th,1997)
Drivers'
Championships		0
Race victories0(best finish: 2nd,1997 Spanish Grand Prixand1999 European Grand Prix)
Podiums3
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
Final entry2001 Japanese Grand Prix

Prost Grand Prixwas aFormula Oneracing team owned and managed by four-time Formula One world championAlain Prost.The team participated in five seasons from 1997 to 2001.

History

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Purchase of Ligier

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As early as 1992, Alain Prost had ambitions to buy theLigierteam, and had tested their1992 carincognito, wearingÉrik Comas's crash helmet, with a view to being a driver-owner, even setting competitive lap times.[1]Ligier was being supplied withElflubricants andRenaultengines at the time, and the French manufacturers had strong ties with Prost. They were pushing to keep him in F1 after his sacking byFerrariat the end of 1991. Prost wanted to bringJohn Barnard,who had designed his title winning McLaren cars in 1985 and 1986 on board as part of the package.[2]The deal fell through just before the season openingrace in South Africahowever, and Prost sat the season out before joining the similarly Renault poweredWilliamsteam for 1993, and won his fourth world championship before his retirement from racing.[3]

In the meantime, Ligier was bought instead byCyril Bourlon de Rouvre.The team enjoyed an upswing in fortunes under his ownership and went on to be reasonably competitive in the mid 1990s.[4]

De Rouvre then sold up toBenettonbossesFlavio BriatoreandTom Walkinshawin early 1994 after being convicted for fraud. Briatore saw this deal as a way to gain access to the Renault engines for Benetton, which at the time were the dominant engines in F1. Briatore placed Walkinshaw at Ligier as team boss, but he walked away and boughtArrowsafter a disagreement with the Italian, taking chief designerFrank Derniewith him.[5]

Prost completed the purchase of the Ligier team in February 1997 after several months of speculation.[6]The new owner immediately changed the name to Prost. An exclusive contract for full-factory worksPeugeotengines was announced for 1998, but the team continued with Ligier's plannedMugen-Hondaengines for 1997. As there was no time before the season started to design and build a new car, the team simply used the Ligier JS45 designed byLoïc Bigoisand renamed it theProst JS45.[7]

Early promise

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The season started strongly.Olivier Panislay third in the championship early in the season aided by podium finishes inBrazil(third) andSpain(second). Form seemed to be on Panis' side, but the Frenchman crashed heavily at high speed inCanada,breaking both his legs.[8]

With its lead driver forced to miss much of the season, Prost struggled with novicesJarno TrulliandShinji Nakanountil Panis's return at theLuxembourg Grand Prix.There were glimpses, a commanding drive by Trulli inAustriawhere he led for much of the race before his engine expired, and a run by Trulli again to fourth atGermanyshowed potential, and a dogged points finish for Panis on his return in Luxembourg meant that Prost wasted no time in signing the pair up for a further season.[9]

1997 world championJacques Villeneuvelater remarked that in the year of his title victory, he had regarded Panis as something of a threat.[citation needed]Panis had been fastest in Spain, and was running right behind Villeneuve inArgentinawhen his car gave up on him. He was close to winning in Canada too as hisBridgestonetyres were better equipped than theGoodyeartyred cars around him.[citation needed]

Olivier Panis driving for the Prost Grand Prix team in Montreal in 1998.

Problems and decline

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After such a promising 1997, hopes were high for the partnership with Peugeot as this was an attempt at becoming an all-French powerhouse and thus Prost earned Peugeot's direct factory support. It was established just a few days before the partnership was made official that Peugeot had changed the terms of their agreement with Prost meaning they had to pay Peugeot for the engines over a period of three seasons rather than receiving them for free over a period of five seasons; this left Prost with little to no choice but to agree to the new terms as it would have left them with little to no time to find a new engine supplier, however also not doing so would have had major ramifications with potential sponsors pulling out of sponsoring them,[10]things took a turn for the worse in the following seasons. After serious gearbox problems in testing, the team almost did not start the 1998 season-opener as their car still had to pass a crash-test. They made it to theAustralian Grand Prix,but the season proved to be a failure. Only Trulli's sixth at Spa kept the team from last in the standings. In the first few races of 1998, the team also ran with X-wings until these were banned on safety grounds.[11]

The 1999 season saw an improvement. John Barnard was hired as technical consultant.[12]Several points finishes were achieved and a second place coming by way of Trulli's strong drive at theNürburgring.At times the car looked genuinely competitive with strong qualifying displays. Yet the results often failed to materialise. At Magny-Cours Panis had started third, but was unable to capitalise and finished outside the points. Trulli was under contract for 2000, but the team's relative lack of success enabled him to leave for Jordan. Panis was dropped and went on to become McLaren's tester.[13]

Struggle for survival

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In 2000 the team began its sharp decline. Veteran racerJean Alesi,Prost's former teammate atFerrariin 1991, was signed to the team. The team also signed up rookie F3000 championNick Heidfeldfor 2000.

Despite a promising driver lineup, Prost finished last in the Constructors Championship, failing to score a single point during the season. Heidfeld was disqualified from theEuropean Grand Prixat the Nürburgring for his car being two kilos underweight. Prost firedAlan Jenkins,the car's designer after Monaco.[14]At theAustrian Grand Prixtheir two drivers crashed into each other, putting them both out of the race. The relationship between Prost and Peugeot collapsed.[15]

Jean Alesidriving for Prost during2001.

In 2001 the cars now ran withAcer-badgedFerrariengines. The season began with Alesi and ex-Minardi driverGastón Mazzacane,but after four races, the latter was dropped from the team and replaced byJaguar'sLuciano Burti,who himself was replaced at Jaguar byPedro de la Rosa.Alesi was very consistent, finishing every race, occasionally in points scoring positions, most notably inCanadawhen he did a few donuts afterwards and after getting out of the car, threw his helmet into the crowd. It was his best finish with the team. A fallout after theBritish Grand Prix,however, saw Alesi walk out after theGerman Grand Prix.For his final race with Prost, Alesi scored another championship point in that race of attrition. The first start for the race was red-flagged when Burti was launched into the air after crashing at high speed into the back ofMichael Schumacher's ailing Ferrari just seconds off the line. Alesi moved toJordan Grand Prixfor the rest of the year, and was replaced at Prost byHeinz-Harald Frentzen,who himself had been sacked from Jordan afterSilverstone.

InBelgium,Frentzen qualified a surprising fourth on the grid after getting his first and only dry lap right in drying conditions, but threw it away when he stalled on the initial formation lap, the first of three red flags. The third one saw a long delay after a huge crash at the fastest part of the circuit involving Burti andEddie Irvine's Jaguar. Burti was transported away from the circuit by helicopter and taken away for medical observation. AtMonza,F3000driverTomáš Engebecame the fifth driver to drive for the team in 2001. There would be no more points that year.[16]

At the end of the season, speculation began surrounding the fate of the team in the light of its increasing debts. Finally, in early 2002 the team went bankrupt, just before the start of the season. Prost had been unable to raise enough sponsorship to keep the team afloat. Deeply hurt by the episode, Prost described it as a disaster for France. Frentzen had hoped to stay, but ended up atArrows.The team never managed to replace the money thatGauloisesstopped supplying when they withdrew their title sponsorship at the end of 2000.[17]

Reflecting back on the experience, Alain Prost stated that Prost Grand Prix was his biggest mistake.[18]

Phoenix Finance's failed F1 entry

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A consortium fronted byPhoenix Finance– run by Charles Nickerson, a friend ofArrows'Tom Walkinshaw– purchased the team's assets, believing that together with their purchase of oldArrowsassets, specifically the engines, it would gain them entry for the 2002 season. However, the FIA viewed the consortium as a new entry (subject to an entry fee) and the project did not go ahead.[19]

Complete Formula One results

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(key)

Year Chassis Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Points WCC
1997 JS45 Mugen-HondaMF-301HB 3.0V10 B AUS BRA ARG SMR MON ESP CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA AUT LUX JPN EUR 21 6th
FranceOlivier Panis 5 3 Ret 8 4 2 11† 6 Ret 7
ItalyJarno Trulli 10 8 4 7 15 10 Ret
JapanShinji Nakano 7 14 Ret Ret Ret Ret 6 Ret 11† 7 6 Ret 11 Ret Ret Ret 10
1998 AP01 PeugeotA16 3.0V10 B AUS BRA ARG SMR ESP MON CAN FRA GBR AUT GER HUN BEL ITA LUX JPN 1 9th
FranceOlivier Panis 9 Ret 15† 11† 16† Ret Ret 11 Ret Ret 15 12 DNS Ret 12 11
ItalyJarno Trulli Ret Ret 11 Ret 9 Ret Ret Ret Ret 10 12 Ret 6 13 Ret 12†
1999 AP02 PeugeotA18 3.0V10 B AUS BRA SMR MON ESP CAN FRA GBR AUT GER HUN BEL ITA EUR MAL JPN 9 7th
FranceOlivier Panis Ret 6 Ret Ret Ret 9 8 13 10 6 10 13 11† 9 Ret Ret
ItalyJarno Trulli Ret Ret Ret 7 6 Ret 7 9 7 Ret 8 12 Ret 2 Ret Ret
2000 AP03 PeugeotA20 3.0V10 B AUS BRA SMR GBR ESP EUR MON CAN FRA AUT GER HUN BEL ITA USA JPN MAL 0 NC
FranceJean Alesi Ret Ret Ret 10 Ret 9 Ret Ret 14 Ret Ret Ret Ret 12 Ret Ret 11
GermanyNick Heidfeld 9 Ret Ret Ret 16 EX 8 Ret 12 Ret 12† Ret Ret Ret 9 Ret Ret
2001 AP04 Acer01A 3.0V10 M AUS MAL BRA SMR ESP AUT MON CAN EUR FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA USA JPN 4 9th
FranceJean Alesi 9 9 8 9 10 10 6 5 15 12 11 6
GermanyHeinz-Harald Frentzen Ret 9 Ret 10 12
ArgentinaGastón Mazzacane Ret 12 Ret Ret
BrazilLuciano Burti 11 11 Ret 8 12 10 Ret Ret Ret DNS
Czech RepublicTomáš Enge 12 14 Ret

References

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  1. ^Prankerd, Tom (19 April 2013)."Testing Time - Alain Prost, Ligier, 1992".second-a-lap.blogspot.com.Archivedfrom the original on 24 June 2021.Retrieved21 September2020.
  2. ^"1992 - Le feuilleton Prost - Ligier".www.statsf1.com.Archivedfrom the original on 16 April 2021.Retrieved10 October2020.
  3. ^"Prost Grand Prix's original plan to debut in 1995/96".unracedf1.com.12 May 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 31 March 2023.Retrieved21 September2020.
  4. ^Thomsen, Ian (21 May 1993)."Ligier's de Rouvre: Man of Many Parts".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 24 June 2021.Retrieved21 September2020.
  5. ^"Briatore buys out Guy Ligier".www.grandprix.com.Archivedfrom the original on 6 October 2022.Retrieved21 September2020.
  6. ^"Prost and Ligier".www.grandprix.com.Archivedfrom the original on 14 July 2020.Retrieved15 July2020.
  7. ^"Motor racing: Prost acquires Ligier F1 team".The Independent.14 February 1997.Archivedfrom the original on 14 July 2020.Retrieved15 July2020.
  8. ^Day, Aron (16 September 2014)."What Ever Happened To…? Olivier Panis".Formula Spy.Archivedfrom the original on 14 July 2020.Retrieved18 October2020.
  9. ^"What Ever Happened To…? Olivier Panis".16 September 2014.Archivedfrom the original on 14 July 2020.Retrieved15 July2020.
  10. ^"The Problems Of Prost Grand Prix".YouTube.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-03-19.Retrieved2023-03-19.
  11. ^"Prost And Williams Seek Solutions".Crash.14 May 1998.Archivedfrom the original on 28 June 2021.Retrieved15 July2020.
  12. ^"Prost Looks To Barnard For 1999".Crash.net.19 August 1998.Retrieved21 September2020.
  13. ^Collins, Aaron (3 September 2018)."F1: Prost Grand Prix - What went wrong?".Archivedfrom the original on 15 August 2019.Retrieved15 July2020.
  14. ^"Prost, Alan Jenkins part ways".us.motorsport.com.Archived fromthe originalon 26 January 2020.Retrieved15 July2020.
  15. ^"Austrian GP, 2000".www.grandprix.com.Archivedfrom the original on 27 January 2020.Retrieved15 July2020.
  16. ^"Prost AP04".www.f1technical.net.Archivedfrom the original on 26 January 2020.Retrieved15 July2020.
  17. ^Edworthy, Sarah (4 February 2002)."Formula One: Prost's failure casts large shadow".Archivedfrom the original on 26 January 2020.Retrieved15 July2020– via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  18. ^"Prost says being a team manager his 'biggest mistake'".Crash.13 August 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 13 February 2023.Retrieved15 July2020.
  19. ^"Phoenix will not rise from Prost's flames".SportBusiness.13 March 2002.Archivedfrom the original on 19 October 2019.Retrieved15 July2020.
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