| | BARCELONA -- Team boss Alain Prost says it will be a challenge to keep the lid on Jean Alesi's fiery temper, but he expects great things from his
veteran Formula One driver this season.
Prost also told reporters at the launch of the new Prost-Peugeot AP03 in Barcelona on Tuesday that he expected his team to figure among the top four or five in 2000.
|  | | Jean Alesi drives the new Prost Peugeot car at the Montmelo racetrack Tuesday. |
"I am very happy to see him so motivated, but I know too that it is part of my job to try to keep him calm," Prost said of Alesi, who has joined the Prost-Peugeot team from Sauber. "We have a good friendship and I feel he can help us
achieve our ambition of winning a race this year.
Alesi partners German debutante Nick Heidfeld in an all-new line up at Prost in place of the departing Italian Jarno Trulli, who has moved to Jordan, and Frenchman Olivier Panis, now McLaren's test driver.
"My two drivers really complement each other. Jean has exceptional experience and motivation and Nick has obvious great talent. We are expecting some impressive results," said the four-time world champion Prost.
Alesi will be starting his 11th season in Formula One. He has 167 races under his belt with stints at Tyrrell, Ferrari and Benetton. He said he was impressed with the sleek, blue Prost and was looking forward to working with his new boss.
"For me this is a dream as I have always wanted to be part of this kind of team," Alesi said. "I have always enjoyed working with Alain and I tried to
make it happen when I was at Ferrari but it didn't work out.
"Now we are together I cannot tell you how happy I am that this has happened. It is a great motivation for me to be racing for a French team."
Briton Alan Jenkins, the team's technical director, said the car had improved aerodynamics and was shorter with a smaller, lighter and lower engine which has improved the center of gravity compared to the model used last season. He added that the team had decided to combine the packaging of the engine and gearbox systems, which had created major improvements throughout the car.
"I believe this year will see far more than just an evolution," said Jenkins. "The team is maturing and we feel that the whole package is coming together now."
Prost, however, said McLaren and Ferrari were still a class apart, ahead of Jaguar and Jordan.
"We will not be too far from them," he said. | |
ALSO SEE
Heidfeld eager to learn from master Prost
Yahoo! Prost agrees to sponsorship deal with internet site
 |
