Thursday February 24th, 2000

Formula One newcomer Nick Heidfeld fears his Prost team are in poor shape for the new season, according to comments in Britain's Autosport magazine on Thursday.

"We just cannot go to Melbourne like this. We just seem to have the same problem with the electronics (all the time)," the German was quoted as saying.

"It seems as though we have decided to stick with it. We have to work on it but I just don't know the car. We need more time.

"I have no idea how the car is in the high-speed or the low-speed corners. I'm very worried because we only have three more days of testing."

The French team, currently testing in Spain ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 12, said on Sunday that persistent electronic problems had badly disrupted their last four-day test session in Barcelona.

Neither Heidfeld nor Frenchman Jean Alesi were able to get any significant time on the track during that test and Alesi was also hit by a gearbox problem on the first day of testing at Jerez on Wednesday.

Autosport reported the new APO3 was suffering a lack of rear grip that made the back end unstable but it quoted team boss Alain Prost as saying that the rear suspension and engine mounting problems had been resolved.