Words by Dionysis Nanos
Since the Coronavirus has taken Formula 1 hostage for 2020 and we have pretty much nothing to say for this year’s season, we decided to take a dip back in time… again. And it’s back to everyone’s second favorite decade, the 90’s, and why wouldn’t it be? If you ask any F1 fan that respects themselves to name the best period of the sport, most of them willsay the second half of the 90s. Great drivers, great battles and also the golden years of the privateer teams. Williams, Jordan, Arrows, Stewart, the list goes on and on and… Oh you almost forgot Prost didn’t you. Well the story of Prost is an interesting one but it also proves that in the end luck plays a great role in winning and most importantly, in survival. Let’s take a closer look.
First of all, for those of you that don’t know, don’t remember or aren’t bothered to think while reading this bit (and that’s understandable), Prost Grand Prix was something that finds it roots a good 8 years before the actual team was formed. Back in 1989, Alain Prost’s relationship with McLaren and Ayrton Senna had gone so south that he was looking for a way out, in the form of his own team, which he would have put together with former McLaren chief designer, John Barnard. And things would have worked out if it wasn’t for a lack of sponsorship, which ultimately led to Prost driving for Ferrari in 1990 and Barnard going to Benetton. But that wasn’t the end of that, as Prost found himself without a team again, this time in 1992, and this time he went to Guy Ligier and tried to buy his team, which Ligier wasn’t really thrilled about. Still things didn’t work out badly for Prost as his move to Williams for 1993 secured his fourth and final championship. After that he went on to become McLaren’s technical advisor before this time going to Flavio Briattore after the end of the 1996 season, finally taking ownership of Ligier. And Prost had reasons to be happy for 1997.
the AP04, Prost's last car
Prost got everything Ligier had, chief among which their car for 1997. Ligier already had a car developed for the next season, the JS45 so Prost would simply use that until they could make their own for 1998. So that’s the chassis taken care of, but what about engines? Apparently, Prost was in talks with Renault before the buyout of Ligier about the manufacturer supplying engines for his future team, but Renault refused to work with him, probably because of the fantastic relationship with Williams at the time. That left Peugeot as Prost’s engine supplier from 1998 to 2000, something which Prost himself announced one day after announcing that he bought Ligier. That being said, for 1997 as most things weren’t ready yet, the team would use Ligier’s Mugen-Honda engines. As far as drivers were concerned, 1996 Monaco GP winner and former Ligier driver Olivier Panis and Japanese driver Shinji Nakano would join the team for the season. And everything was going to plan. Actually, things were going better than planned.
Immediately, the JS45 proved to be a solid chassis and in the hands of Olivier Panis, finished a very respectable fifth in the opening round of the Australian GP. More points finishes followed including two podiums, a third place in Brazil and a staggering second in Spain, while in Argentina Panis was set for a victory when his car gave up on him. But then disaster struck. Panis was involved in an accident in the Canadian GP which resulted in a broken leg, putting him out for the next seven races, damaging both his and Prost’s momentum in the process. Jarno Trulli substituted for him and also managed a 4th place finish on the German GP. With Panis returning on the later part of the season, Prost wrapped 1997 up with 21 points and a 6th place finish on the manufacturer’s championship. Not bad for a new team, but 1998 was shaping up to be Prost’s breakthrough year. Aaaaand it wasn’t…
Family photo…
See, 1998 would be Prost’s first actual year running as a new team, with a new chassis and new Peugeot-supplied V10s, so expectations were at least respectable with hopes of improving on last year’s results. Moreover, Jarno Trulli joined Olivier Panis full time in 1998, replacing Shinji Nakano. But immediately cracks began to appear and it was all down to the car. While last year’s JS45 was a good racer, the AP01 was the exact opposite with the main culprit being the gearbox. It was unreliable and heavy… really heavy. Heavier than the fail of MasterCard Lola (read that too you’ll enjoy…). So heavy in fact it made a mess of the weight distribution. The result of this was an abysmal year with the best result being 6th at that year’s chaotic Belgian GP, in which only 8 cars finished in total. That translated to a single point and Prost finishing 9th in the manufacturer’s championship. But hey, maybe 1999 would be better and finally the car would reach its full potential. Maybe?
Well… it was definitely an improvement on the hell that was 1998. John Barnard, the mastermind behind Prost’s championship winning McLaren’s of the 80s, was brought in to help with development and the car was generally better, meaning that 1999 could be a good year after all. Sadly that wasn’t meant to be as Panis only finished in the points twice and Jarno Trulli took the team’s third and last podium at that year’s Austrian GP. The result? 9 points and 7th place in the manufacturer’s championship. Time for the new millenium and new luck, right? Why is no one smiling here?
The AP03 while moving under its own power. A rare sight
2000 was going to be a year of changes. To start with both Jarno Trulli and Olivier Panis left the team, the former joining Jordan to replace the retiring Damon Hill and the latter going to McLaren as a test driver. They got replaced by Alain Prost’s former Ferrari teammate and 1995 Canadian GP winner Jean Alesi and by reigning Formula 3000 champion Nick Heidfeld. The driver lineup then was more than capable, but again the car was the exact opposite of that. The main problem this time was the engine. Peugeot’s V10 was slow, underpowered and of course unreliable, which meant that the cars barely finished any races that year at all, while the chassis itself was plagued by poor traction and inconsistent handling. Prost got so fed up with the results that he fired technical director Alan Jenkins after the Monaco GP. Prost managed to finish the season with no points, thus coming up last on the manufacturer’s championship. After the end of the season most sponsors left and the team entered into a new round of trouble with the 2001 season right around the corner.
For 2001, Heidfeld left and in his place came Gastón Mazzacane from Minardi, bringing with him valuable PSN sponsorship after all sponsors left at the end of the 2000 season. Acer also joined as title sponsor, and the car itself was definitely better than last year’s steaming failure. Most importantly the car ran an Acer-badged Ferrari engine and gearbox, meaning that at least.. you know… it would move under its own power and not explode in a cloud of smoke and tears. And the results of the new car weren’t as bad as last year’s which, to be honest, doesn’t really say much. To make matters worse, Alesi fell out with Prost mid-season and went to Jordan, basically switching places with Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who joined Prost for the last five races. Also remember Mazzacane? Well after the San Marino GP he too got replaced by former Jaguar driver Luciano Burti who himself got replaced for the last three races by Czech Tomáš Enge, after Burti got injured at the Belgian GP. This game of musical chairs brought Prost 4 points; their last points as after the season ended the team folded, with Alain Prost not being able to carry the team’s financial problems anymore.
So Prost then. A team full of hopes, put together by one of the greatest drivers in history that wasn’t really a joke like Minardi. Prost at times had the car, the sponsors and the drivers to be successful… just not all of them at the same time. Call it bad luck call it bad management but Prost should have at least been a respectable mid-carder team with your Jordans and and your Stewarts but that never came to be. Instead we’re left with a great story and a part of what is arguably the most enjoyable chapter in recent F1 history, the late 90s. Now if only Alain Prost wanted to return to the game we have some ideas we can share…