Prost to have more talks with McLaren

Motor racing

The four-times world champion, Alain Prost, is to meet McLaren officials in the next few days for more talks about making a return to Formula One.

In an apparent climbdown from his earlier statements, Prost said he would be prepared to race even if he felt that the car would not give him a totally competitive drive.

The Frenchman, who won three of his world titles with the Woking-based team, is considering a grand prix comeback at the age of 40 next season in a possible three-driver line-up with Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard.

Prost, who continued his testing programme with McLaren at Silverstone yesterday, will have to make up his mind soon. The team plans to announce its line-up at the European Grand Prix in Germany on 1 October. "This is not a test for me to make a decision," Prost said. "It is just a normal test. I am participating to try and help them and also to get to know the car and the team again.

"In life I have learned the most important thing is to enjoy the things I do. If I feel I can enjoy coming back even if the results are not exactly what I, or people expect, I would."

Prost is considering a comeback at a time when the feud between Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher has rekindled memories of his own rivalry with Ayrton Senna.

"I think it's inevitable that when you have two drivers fighting for the championship you have one or two problems in the year," Prost said. "How can you avoid that? They want to win races, want to win championships and most of the time they are together on the track."