Formula One: This is wake-up call for F1, says Stoddart

Formula One team chiefs have been warned that the demise of Prost Grand Prix is a wake-up call for the sport.

The decision of a French court to put Prost into receivership with debts of €32.6m has sent shockwaves along the grid.

One owner has said others could follow suit unless there is a fairer redistribution of the millions of pounds paid to teams under its secret Concorde Agreement.

"I am very sorry to see Prost go under even though it will mean more money for us," said British-based Australian aviation tycoon Paul Stoddart, who saved Minardi last year. "But this is a wake-up call for the sport.

"I don't think we will see any other team go the same way as Prost this year but if one were to lose their major sponsor or, God forbid, we had a repeat of what happened last September 11, then who knows.

"Longer term, if we are to make sure all the teams survive then we have to look at how money is redistributed in Formula One to ensure there is bit more of a level footing for everyone."

The top teams, who usually have the most sponsorship, benefit more from the complex financial pay-outs from television and travel grants than the smaller teams under the agreement.

Formula One has also to brace itself for the loss of millions of pounds of cigarette sponsorship from 2007 - with few signs yet that other major manufacturers are willing to replace tobacco.

The planned breakaway by the major manufacturers when the Concorde Agreement runs out in 2007 is another worrying sign on the financial horizon.

That will not now concern Prost, the four-time former drivers' champion, who saw his dream of winning the title as a team boss finally ended when his French-based outfit failed to find a financial savior.

The 46-year-old launched the team in 1997 after buying out Ligier but after scoring 21 points in its first season had managed just 14 in the past four campaigns during which it lost the backing of several key investors.