Saudi Deal Ruined by Sept. 11th, Says Prost

The Prost Formula One team's chances of being rescued by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal were ruined by the September 11 attacks on the United States, team owner Alain Prost has said.

"September 11 ended the possibility of reaching a deal," the Frenchman told Friday's Financial Times newspaper.

The four times World Champion's team were placed in receivership in November with debts of around $28 million. The Saudi billionaire, who is a keen fan of motor racing, had been seen as a potential buyer of the team. Prost said two or three investment funds might still intervene but time was against him.

"We are dealing with people who are taking a very long time and being very cautious," he said.

The Frenchman said earlier this week that if no partners were found by January 14, the team would be very likely to end up in formal liquidation. The new season starts in Australia on March 3 and Prost, apart from having no main backer to pay the bills, have yet to secure their Ferrari engines and name any drivers.

Prost told the Financial Times he needed around 76 million euros ($68.22 million) to compete next season with 85 percent of that to come from sponsorship deals.

"There is a real problem today, especially when you know that advertising budgets have been cut by 40 percent," said Prost. "Our situation is not very different from that of other teams, except that we are really in need of immediate funding and the timing is very unfavourable."

Prost also revealed his team have no option but to use a Ferrari engine if they make it to the Grand Prix grid in 2002. "We will be in Australia with a Ferrari engine or we will not have an engine at all," he added.

Prost, who bought the old Ligier team in 1997, said French labour laws restricting working hours had made it even harder to run a successful team and attract investors in that country.

"If there is one mistake that I feel that I clearly made, it was that I embarked on a project in France without having partners who were really motivated," he said. Television revenues should be distributed differently, he added, to give smaller teams such as his a chance to compete with the major manufacturers.

"The sponsors keep hearing from the media that only the large car makers will make it, so naturally they do not come to us," Prost declared.