Mosley: Prost Replacement Not Imminent

Car manufacturers are interested in replacing the bankrupt Prost Formula One team but a stand-in outfit is unlikely to be found this season, FIA president Max Mosley said on Thursday.

Mosley said it was still possible for an interested party to take over from the French team because it had already paid the $48 million entry bond for a place in the 2002 World Championship.

"If that happens, we would give it back to them (Prost) in instalments from the first race onwards," Mosley said.

Mosley added that the likelihood of any team replacing Prost at such a late stage was slim, with just 24 days before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 3.

"There has been a lot of interest, but I don't expect anything to happen imminently," he said, adding that the FIA had a duty to help prevent existing teams from falling into a bad financial state.

"We do not usually want to interfere as a ruling body, but it is our job to defend and protect motorsport and it is our duty to solve these kind of problems," he said.

Mosley is not aware of any other teams facing imminent bankruptcy as they struggle to raise the necessary budget for a competitive season in Formula One.

"If there are any, they will keep quiet, I suppose, or else their creditors will start pressing," Mosley said.