Prost voices concern over Mazzacane

Mazzacane was picked to partner Jean Alesi at the French team in January, shortly after Prost had secured major backing from South American TV giant PSN. The Argentinian's signing fitted PSN's requirements for a Spanish-speaking driver, but his lack of pace was a concern as soon as he got behind the wheel.

Despite a string of lacklustre performances, Prost had not voiced any concern over Mazzacane until last weekend's San Marino Grand Prix, when the 25-year-old was more than two seconds behind his team mate during qualifying.

"It is obviously a problem for both drivers," said Prost. "When one driver is half a second behind it makes both push, but when it is more [than that] it is difficult to work and a big problem for the team.

"We are working hard and trying to help make Gaston as quick as possible, but I don't expect him to be more than two seconds a lap slower than Jean."

Four-time world champion Prost has been trying to find a replacement for Mazzacane during the past few weeks and attempted to recruit Jordan's test driver Ricardo Zonta at the Brazilian GP and again at Imola, but to no avail. McLaren tester Alex Wurz is also believed to have turned down a drive with the French team.

Mazzacane is thought to have a contract for the entire 2001 season, as long as he qualifies within half a second of Alesi for the opening few races - something he has so far failed to do. Prost, however, may be forced to keep him on if a suitable replacement cannot be found.

Williams test driver Marc Gene could be an option and would appeal to PSN as a Spanish speaker. However, he is unlikely to make the move for the same reason as Wurz and Zonta, in that a test drive with a top team and the potential long-term benefits are more appealing than a race seat towards the back of the grid.