Considering the beast is supposed to have passed away peacefully in its sleep several weeks ago, the vultures still seem to be picking over the bones of what was the Prost GP team.  It's a saga that seems set to run and run in the weeks ahead with the new 'team' battling against none other than the FIA in its quest to race in Formula One.

The story so far: The French authorities charged with dealing with the French team's remaining assets say that none of the offers made to take over the running of the team have been deemed acceptable.  By failing to turn up for Scrutineering at the Australian Grand Prix a fortnight ago, Prost GP loses the rights to take part in the 2002 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

However, in Melbourne, Arrows owner and entrepreneur Tom Walkinshaw announces that, acting on behalf of an American consortium, he has bought the team, including its entry in the World Championship and that his TWR group will be supplying technical support to the new team.  Leading the consortium is a mysterious American businessman called Chuck Nicholson.  In the course of the next few days, the team is given a name - Phoenix - and Chuck mysteriously metamorphoses into Lincolnshire businessman, one time amateur racer and old mate of Walkinshaw's Charles Nickerson.

The "new" team plans to turn up in Malaysia, using 2001 Prost chassis fitted with 1999 spec Brian Hart built engines, which just happen to be sitting at TWR's Leafield HQ.  However, there is a fly in the ointment.  Leaving aside the minor irritant that Minardi boss Paul Stoddart publicly condemns the deal in no uncertain terms in a Melbourne press conference, after his own bid to buy and in his own words "bury the Prost team once and for all" has failed, the FIA announces that Phoenix does not own the rights to enter the championship.  Phoenix could of course, if they so wished, stump up the US$48 million dollar deposit necessary for a new team to take up the 12th available place on the grid.

Surely this would be the end of the affair.  No!  In Malaysia, the Phoenix Group puts out a press release insisting that the French courts did sell them Prost's entry into the series and once again FIA denies this is the case.

Although the "team" press release was issued on "Phoenix" headed paper, two days before the statement was made, it had changed its name to DART Grand Prix Team Ltd. and was registered at Companies House in London.  Stranger still, Walkinshaw used to own a company called DART, (Dunlop Auto Racing Tyres) which serviced touring car racing in the UK.  We await further developments with interest! See you in court, as they say.