The modestly successful season that had just concluded slightly lifted Alain Prost’s spirits, as he was now convinced he had found the right path to be able to fight with the best cars on the grid. In preparation for the 2000 season, Prost decided to make some changes within his team in order to further strengthen the technical staff as well as the workforce, which was increased to around 250 members. During the weekend of the 1999 French Grand Prix, it was announced that Alan Jenkins, former designer at Stewart, would join as Technical Director, replacing Bernard Dudot. Jenkins and Prost had already worked together at McLaren in the mid-1980s, when the French driver won his first two world titles and Jenkins served as Senior Engineer. They were joined by John Walton as the new Sporting Director, who had just left Arrows and was involved in a legal dispute with the British team. Loïc Bigois was confirmed as head of aerodynamics, replacing Ben Wood, and was now able to benefit from greater wind tunnel testing resources. For Bigois’s former position as Chief Designer, the young French engineer Jean-Paul Gousset was hired to work under the supervision of John Barnard, who was still officially contracted as an external consultant.
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| PROST AP03, Jean Alesi Catalunya-Barcelona, Spanish GP 2000 |
The new car emerging from the Prost Grand Prix facilities in Guyancourt, a suburb about 20 km from Paris, was called the AP03, the fourth car built by the French team since former World Champion Alain Prost took over Ligier in 1997. At first glance, the new car showed a return to the past: the sidepods lost the distinctive chamfered edges seen on the AP02, and the nose returned to being slightly more square and arched. The engine cover was no longer completely straight but had an upper section parallel to the ground before sloping downward toward the rear. The winglets ahead of the rear wheels were revised to redirect airflow, and the exhausts were now of the top-exiting type, directing gases upward to create a stream of hot air toward the rear wing.
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| PROST AP03, Jean Alesi Spa-Francorchamps, Belgian GP 2000 |
Under the skin, the new AP03 changed very little, with a slightly stiffer chassis and the usual push-rod double wishbone suspension configuration. The engine remained an evolved Peugeot V10 to A20 specification, but according to Prost’s drivers and engineers, it was still the car’s weak point, with poor reliability and significantly less power than its rivals, although Peugeot claimed a maximum output of 800 hp at 16,200 rpm on the dyno. The V10 was paired with a modified X-Trac-derived sequential semi-automatic six-speed gearbox, also a source of many problems due to its fragility. On the driver front, following the departures of Panis and Trulli, Prost had to look to the market to find a young driver to pair with a more experienced one. He found them in German Nick Heidfeld, fresh from winning the Formula 3000 European Championship, and Frenchman Jean Alesi, a veteran at the tail end of his career but highly experienced and a friend of Alain Prost, with whom he had raced at Ferrari in 1991. From the very first outings in pre-season testing, the new AP03 proved to be a complete disaster, with Heidfeld unable to find any driving feel whatsoever and both drivers complaining of inconsistent handling and a lack of traction.
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| PROST AP03, Nick Heidfeld Spa-Francorchamps, Belgian GP 2000 |
The car also proved difficult in finding the right balance between stiffness and drivability, as well as chronically unresponsive to setup changes. The start of the season was a disaster, with a string of retirements and Technical Director Alan Jenkins being fired after the Monaco Grand Prix. Prost blamed the engine, which he described as fragile and underpowered, for the AP03’s lack of competitiveness. His criticisms of Peugeot further strained relations, and combined with the poor results, the French manufacturer decided during the season to withdraw from Formula 1 as an engine supplier. Among all the cars produced by the French team, the AP03 recorded the worst results, as neither driver ever scored points, although Alesi managed to qualify eighth at Monaco and climb to fourth at Spa-Francorchamps before retiring. The cars were forced to retire 22 times, mostly due to mechanical failures. Alesi in particular identified, beyond the Peugeot A20 engine, the team’s poor organization and lack of consistent testing as key reasons for the car’s lack of development. During the French Grand Prix, a botched pit stop caught on TV cameras summed up the team’s struggles, showing Alain Prost visibly distraught, shaking his head in despair.
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| PROST AP03, Jean Alesi A1 Ring, Austrian GP 2000 |
For the first time in its history, the French team failed to score a single point and ended the championship in last place, even losing out to the small Minardi team for 10th position. The best result remained Heidfeld’s eighth place in Monaco, but the lack of results led to a breakdown in relations with most sponsors, who abandoned the team at the end of the season. The poor 2000 campaign also meant the team would receive no prize money for the following year, and combined with the loss of sponsors, this plunged Prost Grand Prix into severe financial trouble, marking the beginning of the end for the team.
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