Alain Prost has earned enough money from motorsport to keep him for a lifetime. So why has he purchased a racing team? "It's true. I didn't have to do this. But I wanted to."

Wouldn't you rather have spent your time relaxing on the golf course?
I don't want to play golf every day any more. It's in my nature to find challenging things to do. I have thought about it, and I've told myself I must be mad, but I needed to find something fresh and motivating to do. I like facing something difficult and trying to make it work. It won't stop me playing golf from time to time.

Is this a more daunting challenge than racing a Formula One car?
Much more so. A racing driver has more freedom. If things aren't going well, he can switch teams at the end of the season. I've got to confront all sorts of different problems on a daily basis. I'm well aware of how difficult it's going to be. There are teams out there who have more money than us, and they aren't winning at the moment...

How much of a budget have you assembled?
I'm not going to give out any precise figure. Our target is to have around 300 million francs in place by the start of 1998. That's not excessive compared to some other teams, but it would be enough to do a good job.

Will you ever drive a car bearing your own name?
You should never say "Never". I might do it for fun one day, but if you're asking if I will take on the sort of technical role I had at McLaren, then the answer is no. I'll have too many other things on my plate with running the team.