Prost's struggle enters final phase

MOTOR SPORT: Prost employees kept their hopes up yesterday as the French team's struggle to stay in Formula One entered a decisive phase.

Prost went into receivership in November with debts estimated at around $28 million and a decision on their fate is expected within days after weeks of waiting for would-be rescuers to emerge.

Spokeswoman Virginie Papin said team principal and four-times champion Alain Prost had an important meeting scheduled for yesterday evening to study various proposals in greater depth with court-appointed receiver Franck Michel.

Papin said it would be probably a day or two before an appointment was sought with the court in Versailles which named the receiver. The new season starts in Australia on March 3rd, with Prost the only one of 12 teams still without any named drivers and no title sponsor.

If they do not find a rescuer, the team - with 300 employees - faces bankruptcy, but Formula One will have the same number of teams that it had last season since Toyota will be making their grand prix debut. Prost used Ferrari engines in 2001 and that team's sporting director, Frenchman Jean Todt, said last week that the world champions were waiting for word from Paris before deciding what steps to take in their relationship with Prost.

Meanwhile, Brazil's Rubens Barrichello shook off the effects of his dramatic high-speed crash at the weekend to outpace Ferrari team-mate Michael Schumacher during Formula One testing in Valencia yesterday.

Barrichello had escaped Saturday's crash badly shaken, but showed no ill-effects as yesterday he clocked a best time of one minute 12.498 seconds off 99 laps. Schumacher was a fraction behind with a time of 1:12.636 in 89 laps as both men concentrated on tyres and electronic work in last year's F2001 car.

In Barcelona, Scotland's David Coulthard was right on the pace in his first outing in the new 2002 McLaren, which was launched in Spain on Saturday. Coulthard clocked 1:19.399 off 60 laps.