Prost And Peugeot Stay Together.

Prost will retain use of its Peugeot engines next season, despite rumour of a split between the two French companies.


The pair will now see out the final year of their contract - which expires at the end of the 2000 campaign - before re-assessing their priorities. Peugeot had expressed an interest in focusing on its world rallying programme, which originally sparked speculation in the French press that it was to dump Prost a year early, but will remain in Formula One out of respect to its agreement.


"Peugeot is 110 years old, and I cannot imagine that it has broken a contract by choice in all that time," said F1 boss Corrado Provera, "No-one should be surprised that we are keeping to our side of the deal with Prost."


Although the relationship with team boss Alain Prost has deteriorated noticeably over the course of an unsuccessful season, Peugeot will provide an all-new powerplant next year. The new unit has been on the drawing board for some time, but is expected to run before the current season is out.


"It is a good - new generation - engine," revealed Provera, "and will run in the current car in October so that it is ready for the brand new car next year. We are exactly on schedule as far as both car and engine are concerned. "We will have evolution five of the current engine possibly for the last two races, and evolution seven - which is already using some items of next year's engine - in qualifying for those races.


"We are very pleased with the way Alan Jenkins is boosting the team technically. I would say that the feeling inside the team is much better - much more positive - and this is something which is important to all of us."