Prost Grand Prix

Prost Grand Prix
Company type	Private
Industry	Motorsport
Founded	1997
Defunct	2002
Fate	Bankruptcy
Headquarters	Yvelines, France
Area served	Formula One racing
Key people	Alain Prost (owner)
Products	Formula One cars

Prost Grand Prix was a Formula One outfit owned and operated by four-time world champion Alain Prost, active from 1997 until 2001. It stood as the final French F1 team headquartered in Yvelines, close to Paris.

Acquisition of Ligier

Alain Prost had intentions to acquire the Ligier squad as early as 1992, even conducting secret tests with their 1992 car. Since Ligier utilized Elf lubricants and Renault engines, this aligned well with Prost’s existing affiliations. He planned to recruit designer John Barnard for the project. However, the transaction fell through before the start of the 1992 season, leading Prost to join Williams in 1993, where he secured his fourth world title before retiring.

Subsequently, Ligier was bought by Cyril Bourlon de Rouvre, maintaining moderate competitiveness through the mid-1990s. In early 1994, de Rouvre sold the team to Benetton executives Flavio Briatore and Tom Walkinshaw. Briatore aimed to gain Renault engine access via Ligier, but after disputes, Walkinshaw departed to purchase Arrows, taking chief designer Frank Dernie with him.

After months of speculation, Prost acquired Ligier in February 1997 and rebranded it as Prost. The team declared a full factory partnership with Peugeot engines for 1998 but utilized Ligier’s originally planned Mugen-Honda power units during 1997. Due to time constraints preventing new car development, Prost adopted the Ligier JS45—designed by Loïc Bigois—and simply renamed it the Prost JS45.

Initial success

The season commenced on a positive note, with Olivier Panis ranking third in the drivers’ championship early on, bolstered by podium finishes in Brazil (third place) and Spain (second place). Unfortunately, Panis endured a serious crash in Canada that resulted in both legs being broken.

With their lead driver sidelined, Prost faced challenges relying on rookies Jarno Trulli and Shinji Nakano until Panis made his comeback at the 1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix. Trulli demonstrated promise by leading comfortably in Austria before suffering an engine failure and securing fourth place in Germany. Panis returned to point-scoring form in Luxembourg, convincing Prost to keep both drivers for the next season.

1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve later recognized Panis as a genuine contender during his championship campaign. Panis recorded the fastest lap in Spain and closely trailed Villeneuve in Argentina before retiring. He also nearly claimed victory in Canada, benefiting from superior Bridgestone tires compared to competitors running Goodyear rubber.

Challenges and downturn

Following the encouraging 1997 campaign, expectations were high for the Peugeot alliance, which aimed to build a fully French-supported factory team. However, Peugeot modified their agreement just days before finalization, requiring Prost to purchase engines over three years instead of receiving them free for five seasons. Faced with limited alternatives, Prost accepted these terms despite risking sponsor pullout.

The 1998 season began disastrously, plagued by gearbox malfunctions and delayed crash-test clearances that almost prevented participation at the Australian Grand Prix. The year proved disappointing overall; only Trulli’s sixth-place finish at Spa averted last place in the constructors’ standings. Early races featured X-wing aerodynamic appendages until they were banned due to safety concerns.

In 1999, bringing on John Barnard as technical consultant led to some progress. The team achieved several points finishes, highlighted by Trulli’s runner-up result at the Nürburgring European Grand Prix. Although qualifying pace was competitive, race day performances remained inconsistent. At Magny-Cours, Panis qualified third but failed to score points. Despite having a contract through 2000, Trulli departed for Jordan due to limited success; meanwhile, Panis was released and took on a test driver role at McLaren.

Fight to stay afloat

In the year 2000, even with the addition of experienced driver Jean Alesi and newcomer F3000 champion Nick Heidfeld, Prost Grand Prix ended the season at the bottom of the Constructors' standings without earning any points. Heidfeld faced disqualification at the European Grand Prix due to his car being underweight. Following the Monaco race, Prost terminated the contract of car designer Alan Jenkins. At the Austrian Grand Prix, a collision between both drivers resulted in their retirement from the race, further straining the relationship with engine partner Peugeot.

For the 2001 season, Prost transitioned to using Ferrari engines rebranded as Acer. The campaign began with drivers Alesi and Gastón Mazzacane; however, Mazzacane was replaced by Luciano Burti after just four events. Alesi showed steady form and secured points on several occasions, with his top performance occurring at the Canadian Grand Prix. Nevertheless, after a disagreement post-British Grand Prix, Alesi departed following the German Grand Prix, having scored a point in his last appearance. Heinz-Harald Frentzen took over but was unable to translate promising qualifying sessions into results, notably stalling during the formation lap in Belgium. The season experienced numerous driver rotations, including F3000 competitor Tomáš Enge at Monza, yet no additional points were added.

The team's escalating financial liabilities cast doubt on its viability. Early in 2002, Prost Grand Prix filed for bankruptcy just before the new season commenced, primarily due to a lack of sponsorship—most notably after Gauloises withdrew its title backing in 2000. With Prost's closure, Frentzen transferred to Arrows. Alain Prost later described his tenure managing the team as his greatest error, marking a considerable downturn for French motorsport.

Phoenix Finance's unsuccessful Formula One attempt

A group led by Phoenix Finance and Charles Nickerson—an associate linked to Arrows's Tom Walkinshaw—purchased Prost's assets, including outdated Arrows engines, with intentions to compete in 2002. Nonetheless, the FIA categorized this as a fresh entry requiring payment of an entry fee, ultimately leading to abandonment of the initiative.

Complete Formula One results

(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
Template:F1	JS45	Mugen-Honda MF-301HB 3.0 V10	Template:Bridgestone		AUS	BRA	ARG	SMR	MON	ESP	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	AUT	LUX	JPN	EUR	21	6th
				France Olivier Panis	5	3	Ret	8	4	2	11^†								6	Ret	7
				Template:Country data ITA Template:Namespace detect showall Jarno Trulli								10	8	4	7	15	10	Ret
				Template:Country data JPN Template:Namespace detect showall Shinji Nakano	7	14	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	6	Ret	11^†	7	6	Ret	11	Ret	Ret	Ret	10

|rowspan="3"|
|
||AUS
||BRA
||ARG
||SMR
||ESP
||MON
||CAN
||FRA
||GBR
||AUT
||GER
||HUN
||BEL
||ITA
||LUX
||JPN 
!rowspan="3" |1 
!rowspan="3" |9th 
|- 
| style = "text-align:left" |  Olivier Panis 
| style = "background: #CFCFFF" | 9 
| style = "background: #EFCFFF" | Ret 
| style = "background: #CFCFFF" | 15 ^† 
| style = "background: #CFCFFF" | 11 ^† 
| style = "background: #CFCFFF" | 16 ^† 
| style = "background: #EFCFFF" | Ret 
| style = "background: #EFCFFF" | Ret 
| style = "background: #CFCFFF" | 11 
| style = "background: #EFCFFF" | Ret 
| style = "background: #EFCFFF" | Ret 
| style = "background: #CFCFFF" | 15 
| style = "background: #CFCFFF" | 12 
| style = "background: #ffffff" | DNS 
| style = "background: #EFCFFF" | Ret 
| style = "background: #CFCFFF" | 12 
| style = "background: #CFCFFF" | 11 
|- 
| style = "text-align:left" |  Jarno Trulli 
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... [Table continues with similar compression applied to remaining years] ...

|- ! colspan=24 | Sources: |}

External links

Prost History – December 23, 2000