As predicted by formula1.com, Prost Grand Prix was put into liquidation today. It had previously been rumoured that the Australian GP organisers were told to expect only 22 cars on the grid.
"The court pronounces the liquidation," the president of Versailles commercial court told four times world champion Prost and his lawyers, according to Reuters.

John Walton, the Prost team manager, starts a new job at Minardi today. The Prost team staff are all expected to be made redundant.

Prost went into receivership in November and were given time to find a financial rescue bid. However, according to formula1.com sources the best deals on offer only covered 20c in the dollar of debt.


The FIA were not in a position to comment. One of the questions is whether the vacant grid slot is open to bidding again and expires when a team goes into receivership, or whether this will be sold by the liquidators. However, most agreements have a termination clause in the event of liquidation. It is rumoured that the grid slot is not a saleable asset for the liquidators.

This also leaves the driver market wide open with a shortage of seats. Heinz-Harald Frentzen was thought to be awaiting an answer from Prost. He may now go to Arrows, which could leave Verstappen out in the cold, or Frentzen if he doesn't go to Arrows. It is thought that Mark Webber will be announced as a Minardi driver this evening which means that someone will need to sit the season out.

luckily Burti manage to bailed out before it happens..... whatever will happened to Frentzen? will he be a test driver or took a sabbatical like hakinen. maybe he'll do an even smarter thing like quit F1.

One fairy tale ended in a bad way........or it's just a prove in itself that drivers can't manage......

Bad thing for F1 though, with the Ferrari engine deal Prost looked so promising, but they can't deliver.....

crappy car designers and engineers...... musta've been the chasis coz we know its not the engine.
they are the only team running on ferrari engine and transmission. sauber only uses a revised Ferrari engine.
after a promising debut, i wonder what went wrong:confused:

Yeah, that was one of the most puzzling thing last year, it all went pretty well in pre-season testing.....well more proof that pre-season test means jack...:D

maybe they need a Mclaren style 10k mile program....:D

Their problem wasn't slow cars as much as it was using more money than people actually invested in them and then not having enough to pay the drivers :) Prost was a great racer, but that doesn't mean that he'll be a great team owner. But still, a very sad ending.