Prost test hampered by engine availability.

Caught between two engine suppliers, Alain Prost has admitted that he was unable to properly evaluate all the driver options open to him for next season.

The Frenchman was forced to use ageing Peugeot units in the back of a mildly revamped AP03 at Barcelona last week, and a lack of availability hindered his hopes of running half a dozen of the potential candidates to line up alongside Jean Alesi in 2001. With his new Ferrari engines not arriving until early next month, Prost only managed to give two drivers - Enrique Bernoldi and Oriol Servia - the chance to try last year's car, with several more hopefuls being kept waiting until January at the earliest.

Bernoldi may already have made the second seat his, however, with an impressive run on the final couple of days at the Circuit de Catalunya. The Brazilian, looking to move on from Sauber where he was beaten to the seat alongside Nick Heidfeld by FRenault champion Kimi Raikkonen, lapped a second quicker than his Spanish counterpart as the team tried Michelin tyres for the first time, and ended the test just three-tenths slower than the vastly more experienced Alesi.

To Servia's credit, the test was his first taste of Formula One power, having agreed to test the car when his CART commitments appeared to dim for next season. His work, which, along with Bernoldi, moved into a final day on Friday, enabled the team to complete what insiders claimed was the most productive test of the entire year.

"I am satisfied with the opportunity I have been given to acquire some F1 experience," Servia said afterwards, "I was surprised by the power of the carbon brakes, and my task was to get used to it."

Although Bernoldi appears to be favourite to partner Alesi as things stand now, Prost refuses to be rushed into making a decision. The wily team boss points out that a combination of talent and sponsorship requirements will inevitably control the outcome of the selection, particularly following the loss of Gauloises and, possibly, Yahoo!, from the list of team backers.

Minardi refugee Gaston Mazzacane, current test driver Stephane Sarrazin and Spaniard Fernando Alonso have all been slated to test for the team before it makes its final decision, and all have as much claim to the seat as Bernoldi. German F3 champion Giorgio Pantano is rumoured to have lost his chance of shooting for the seat after refusing to sign a long-term contract with the team.