Thursday June 29th, 2000

French veteran Jean Alesi said on Thursday he would quit Formula One when he became too slow for Alain Prost.

"It feels really good to work with Alain. I want to stay with him as long as I can be fast enough," Alesi, at 36 the oldest driver on the grid, told a news conference ahead of Sunday's French Grand Prix.

"When I can't be, then I will quit."

Alesi has driven for Tyrrell, Ferrari, Benetton and Sauber over the past decade and is a good friend of former world champion Prost, whose Peugeot-engined team has struggled to be competitive this season.

Neither Alesi nor German Nick Heidfeld have scored any points in eight races this season.

The Frenchman said the Prost car had improved considerably in engine performance since the Monaco race at the start of the month but reliability was still a major problem.

The Prost team tested at Magny-Cours last week and the difference was obvious, Alesi said.

"Immediately after I did my first lap the team called me back to the pits. They thought the telemetry was broken because the lap time was too fast.

"So now we are really looking for a result for us. If we can be in the top six, it is a very good result."

Peugeot motorsport boss Corrado Provera said the team would use a new A20 engine in qualifying while the EV3 would be used on race day.

Strained Relations

Relations between Peugeot and Prost have been strained with the team owner admitting to seeking other engine partners.

In an interview with the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport on Thursday, Prost was quoted as saying he had never known a Formula One engine manufacturer to play such a low-key role in the sport.

Asked whether he had discussed an engine deal with Ferrari, one of his old teams, Prost replied: "In a situation like mine, you have to open yourself to everybody. But there are no possibilities with Ferrari."

The team owner praised Alesi. "He's motivated, knows how to motivate others and he does everything he can to give me a hand."

He was more circumspect about Heidfeld, who is effectively "on loan" from McLaren.

"Maybe the fact that he has a contract with McLaren poses a problem. When a driver joins a new team he must become part of the family," he told Gazzetta.

"Heidfeld is a bit like the son of divorced parents: One night he sleeps at his father's, the other at his mother's. He needs time to find his feet."

Provera was reluctant to discuss Peugeot's plans for the future. "What we are still trying to do...is to first give a long-term future to a team in which we believe and which is a team formed by the engineers and mechanics of Peugeot Sport Formula One.

"It takes time...in any case we will not be announcing anything during a Grand Prix weekend.

"Alain Prost is an outstanding champion...he is now running out of results, we are running together out of results. I can imagine he needs to exist in the press and the way he does it belongs to him."