The team was made up of approximately 50 employees; with most coming from the former Arrows test team and the folded Prost GP. At the next race in Malaysia, Phoenix Grand Prix did show up though. Not long after the failed attempt to enter the Malaysian Grand Prix, a name change took place. After a short exchange he stopped answering my emails.
Note 2: I made contact with Charles Nickerson about the Phoenix Grand Prix team. The tyres were supposed to be provided by Bridgestone, however the Japanese company had already stated in early March that it would be unable supply Phoenix and Michelin said the same. As a consequence, Arrows went into liquidation. Arrows look set to miss the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix after their team transporters were instructed to return to their UK base whilst en-route to the Hungaroring, Crash.Net can exclusively reveal.

Rumors suggested that Chassis 3 was actually a Prost AP05 car but it is impossible to have this confirmed. With the purchase complete, the new owners faced their first obstacle in the paddock as Minardi owner Paul Stoddart immediately opposed the team’s re-entry into F1. Just before the 2002 season started Prost Grand Prix was liquidated. Once the takeover of Prost by Phoenix Finance was confirmed, attention turned to who the team’s drivers would be. Note 1: I want to thank Jon Hilton for his information about the Phoenix Grand Prix team. By not showing up in Hungary the team will at least save themselves the payment of a further $1.6 Million to Cosworth for the use of their engines, but on the other hand will incur the wrath of the FIA/FOA and therefore be liable to the harsh financial penalty which is levied to any team who miss a Grand Prix. They came close to a first win in the 1997 Hungarian Grand Prix with defending champion Damon Hill but lost out to Jacques Villeneuve. Crash.Net can exclusively reveal the Arrows F1 trucks have been instructed to turn back to their English base half way through their trans-European convoy to Budapest. Two of my guys went out with the cars to the first race but they were denied track access with the cars and instead had a short holiday. In the meantime, both Gastón Mazzacane and Tarso Marques had been spotted at the circuit wandering around, unaware of what was happening. The cooling, oil and electronics were not too bad to sort out but mechanically fitting the Hart engine to the back of the Prost tub was more tricky. Arrows initially ran a copy of the Shadow DN9, with the initials of the team's first sponsor, Franco Ambrosio, used in naming the car, the Arrows FA1.

These engines had been used by Arrows in their F1 cars in 1998 and 1999, originating from a design by Brian Hart whose engine company was bought by Walkinshaw and merged into Arrows in the middle of 1997.

After the season finale in Japan, rumours began circulating in the paddock speculating about Prost’s financial status and the possibility that the team would go bankrupt. These were rejected. The team, consisting of approximately 50 personnel including the drivers and engineers, and two AP04B cars, were prevented from entering the Sepang paddock. After that Phoenix commenced its legal actions against the FIA, FOM and FOA. After this nothing was heard or seen from the Phoenix Grand Prix team. Justice Morritt also ruled that Phoenix Finance Ltd. should pay all costs. Phoenix arrived on Thursday on a private flight, but the team’s equipment was not allowed to leave the cargo storage at the airport due to issues with their paperwork.

On 22nd May 2002 the High Court ruled that the FIA was in their right to exclude Phoenix from entering Formula One and that Phoenix must pay the court costs associated with the case.
With them were drivers Tarso Marques and Gastón Mazzacane. The total or partial reproduction of text, photographs or illustrations is not permitted in any form. Instead of Phoenix Grand Prix Ltd., the team name was now DART Grand Prix Team Ltd. It’s not clear why this happened.

Charles Nickerson & Tom Walkinshaw. It was shown the day after the High Court of Justice in London upheld Shadow's claim and banned the team from racing the FA1. The engine is a tricky one to define – the engines also came from the Arrows AX3 Seater, and were labeled as the Arrows T2-F1 V10. There followed detailed negotiation between Phoenix, the liquidator of Prost GP and the FIA over whether or not the team would have any Concorde Agreement rights. During the off-season Prost had already started designing their new AP05 car, with pictures of their wind tunnel model leaked on the internet. Chassis 01 was a Prost AP04B. Nevertheless, two nosecones were submitted to the scrutineers at the event, but they were rejected. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. In a conversation on Twitter he confirmed to me that he would have been the first driver for the team. Chassis 01 was a Prost AP04B. The design looked promising. These engines had been used by Arrows in their F1 cars in 1998 and 1999, originating from a design by Brian Hart whose engine company was bought by Walkinshaw and merged into Arrows in the middle of 1997. I am not sure if they also travelled to the next race and did the same? Nederlandse Grand Prix, het hoeft voor mij niet! Alain Prost stated at the time that the team was preparing as normal for 2002 and that it would appear on the grid in Melbourne.

The car was named the Phoenix Grand Prix AP04B – this was basically the Prost AP04 from 2001, however the car had the rear end of the Arrows AX3 Seater – this was the 3-seater car Arrows had designed a couple of years earlier. I think it could have done this but no more.

Contact Crash.Net Privacy Policy Get Crash RSS Newsfeeds About Crash.Net. I think my guys came home after the first one. 25 years ago; Imola 1994 changed the Formula One.

But despite these major setbacks, the Prost team managed to survive during the winter of 2000 and into 2001. In the meantime Nickerson remained in discussion with the FIA, seeking permission for the team to enter the upcoming Grands Prix.

There were a few rather awkward bits on the car as the Hart engine was longer than the original engine so the wheel base was different and the body work did not line up perfectly.

They came close to a first win in the 1997 Hungarian Grand Prix with defending champion Damon Hill but lost out to Jacques Villeneuve. The project then died pretty quickly and we were all relieved.”” 2002 Constructor Standings: Arrows Cosworth - formula1.com ... Standings After scoring just 2 points in 2002, the team pulled out of Formula One after the German Grand Prix. Alain Prost stated at the time that the team was preparing as normal for 2002 and that it would appear on the grid in Melbourne. Facing a big legal bill and no prospect of an F1 entry, Charles Nickerson was non-committal and stated that he would be “considering the future in the light of the extensive judgement and what it means for us as a company”.

The solution they came up with was awful and to me looked unsafe (but to be fair they had no time or room to play with). Almost immediately, Gastón Mazzacane, who had driven for Prost in 2001, was named as a driver. He claimed that to qualify as having taken part the car only needed to run in the garage, then a few days after we had shipped it said that maybe it had to crawl around for one slow lap of the track.

The cars appeared to be painted blue with no sponsor colours or logos. Managing Director Charles Nickerson stayed at the Arrows base at Leafield where the team were using floor space to prepare the cars.