Prost Confident after Receiving Bids for Team

Prost say they have received serious bids from several would-be rescuers and are increasingly optimistic about their Formula One future.

Team spokeswoman Virginie Papin said four times world champion Alain Prost had a number of offers on the table after the expiry of a deadline set by the official receiver for expressions of interest.

"The trend is optimistic -- we are not without options," she told Reuters. "Now we have to make the selection...we are still in a difficult moment but really it is looking much more positive than what I have read recently."

She would not detail exactly how many offers there were, beyond saying that there were more than three and fewer than 10, because Prost wanted to avoid conjecture about who the interested parties might be.

Recent media speculation has focused on a Saudi prince and a Canadian group called Vector Motor Sport. Prost are saddled with debts of around $30 million and were placed in receivership last month, a move that protects them from bankruptcy for six months.

Thursday's deadline was essentially a theoretical one, imposed by a court appointed administrator to try to resolve the team's future as soon as possible.

The French team, who finished ninth overall with four points in the 2001 season, have yet to name any drivers for next year or to reconfirm their Ferrari engine contract.

They must get both in place well before the season starts, and preferably by the New Year, to be sure of making the opening race of the season in Australia in March.

Prost struggled through the 2001 season without a major sponsor and have so far failed to attract one for 2002 because of the uncertainty about the team's survival.

Alain Prost said last month that he was "going through a really dreadful time at a personal level" but would be very proud if the team made it to Melbourne.

German driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who joined Prost in August, has said he would be happy to remain because he was familiar with the car and the team.

But he is waiting to see what happens and has also been linked to Arrows and Minardi.

Tomas Enge, the Czech who competed for Prost in the last three races of the season after Brazilian Luciano Burti was injured, is now out of contract but remains on a list of potential drivers.

"We have not taken the option on his contract, it was too early for our own schedule," said Papin, who hoped Frentzen would keep on waiting.

She said Ferrari were also prepared to wait, although Prost were no longer in the running for the 2001 specification engines that rivals Sauber will use.

The AP05 car will take the cheaper option of the 2000 Ferrari V10 that Prost used this season.