JANUARY 10, 2002

Prost confirms (provisional) Ferrari deal

ALAIN PROST has finally confirmed that his team will run with Ferrari engines in 2002 - if it survives the January 15 deadline which has been set by the team's legal administrator. Prost told Radio Monte Carlo that if he can find $40m there will be no problems for the year ahead.

Prost said that he is also counting on Heinz-Harald Frentzen being the team's lead driver. This will come as bad news for Tom Walkinshaw who wants Frentzen for Arrows but will be great news for Australia as the Minardi team is thus likely to conclude a deal to run Mark Webber. Prost said that there were two or three options for the second driver but did not name names: one is thought to be Tomas Enge, Webber is another possibility and the third is thought to be a French driver, either Stephane Sarrazin or Jonathan Cochet.

The deal is not yet done but after months of uncertainty there is a lot more positive feedback from Guyancourt. Whether the deal is completed remains to be seen but the signs are that Prost may yet be able to send cars to Melbourne.

"It is just a matter of money," Prost said.