Frentzen cautious after first Prost run

Frentzen was unexpectedly sacked by the Jordan team before the German Grand Prix two weeks ago, but in a surprise switch earlier this week he was announced as a replacement for Jean Alesi at Prost, after the Frenchman had taken his seat at Jordan.

Frentzen got behind the wheel of the AP04 at the French Grand Prix circuit on Friday morning and concentrated on finding his way around his new office. The three-time Grand Prix winner practised several starts from the end of the pit lane in order to familiarise himself with the car's launch control system. He completed his allotted 50km of running.

Despite good first impressions, Frentzen was keen to point out that absolutely everything will be new to him when he makes his debut for the team at the Hungarian race, including Michelin tyres instead of Bridgestone and a switch from Honda to Ferrari power.

"I'm very motivated," he said. "But everyone must be patient because of all the new things that I must get used to. There were quite a lot of question marks because there hasn't been much time to get used to things. So far so good. We had a good first day."

Due to Formula 1's mid-season break, teams are precluded from testing in the three weeks between the German and Hungarian GPs. However, shakedowns are permitted provided no more than 50km is completed.

Frentzen spent the last two days at Prost's Guyancourt base on the outskirts of Paris, in order to meet the team and get to know his new engineers.

The 34-year-old will not drive the car again until the first free practice at the Hungaroring. Alesi is due to get his first run in a Jordan at Silverstone on Monday.