Prost Would Leave Team to Guarantee Survival

Alain Prost is ready to leave his Grand Prix team if that means that they can continue to compete in the 2002 Formula One Championship.

The four-time World Champion's team went into receivership last November with debts of around $28 million, and they are expected to know their fate next Monday, where a Versailles court will rule if any of the several rescue offers from foreign investors is enough to save the squad.

Prost, whose Guyancourt-based squad was created in 1997, has revealed that he is ready to leave his own team if that guarantees their future.

"If the team could be saved by my walking away, I would do so," said Prost, who also complained about the lack of French support. "I'm more concerned for my employees than about what might happen to me.

"The overriding problem for teams not linked to engine-makers is finding sponsors. I have fought hard and battled until the end, but I haven't been helped. There hasn't been one French offer."