Thursday October 14th, 1999

Olivier Panis announced yesterday that he will quit Formula One at the end of this season. Panis, the Monaco 1996 winner and currently driving for Prost, was left without a seat after his team signed Jean Alesi and Nick Heidfeld for next year. The French driver was speculated to move to Arrows, however the team is set to retain its current drivers' line-up for next season, and Panis was left without a seat.

Panis is reportedly on his way to the German Touring Car series with Mercedes, but Mercedes would not confirm this, a spokesman for the company saying, "We will make no comment on our driver line-up for next year - it is far too early. A lot of drivers and teams have registered their interest with us for the series."