Prost’s Ferrari engine deal is done

The Prost outfit will be the second team to use the customer Ferrari units, alongside current customers Sauber, which re-badges the Maranello-built engines with the name of the team's title sponsor, Petronas.

Prost's association with the Prancing Horse is a done deal, to the extent that Ferrari top brass represented the French team at last week's meeting of F1's movers and shakers at Heathrow.

Pedro Diniz is increasingly likely to line up as Jean Alesi's team mate at the team next year. The Brazilian currently drives for Sauber and would bring with him more than £6 million in sponsorship from his father's supermarket chain. The Ferrari deal is believed to cost £16.7 million.

"There's a lot of potential in the team," said Diniz, "and with the arrival of Ferrari engines they should do a good step forward in 2001."

The future ownership of Alain Prost's team remains unclear. German media giant Bertelsmann already owns a 10 per cent stake and is on the verge of increasing it, but interest from an outside party is rumoured to be delaying the deal. An announcement is expected at this weekend's Italian Grand Prix.