Eddie Jordan ended two weeks of speculation yesterday by announcing that Prost's Jean Alesi will replace sacked Heinz Harald Frentzen for the remainder of the season.

"I am delighted that Jean is joining us," said Jordan. "His experience will be invaluable to us, but equally important will be his energy and enthusiasm. He is a great motivator and will drive the Jordan Honda EJ11 with real fire in his belly.

"With Jean alongside Jarno (Trulli), Jordan now has a charismatic and vibrant pairing which we hope will be transferred into powerful results on track."

The 37-year-old veteran will now renew a relationship with Eddie Jordan that goes back some 12 years, when the French-Sicilian won the 1989 F3000 title for the Irishman shortly before Jordan began his foray into F1.

"There has not been a year which goes by when Jean does not come to talk to me about driving for Jordan," added Jordan. "We are old friends, so this is normal. But we only struck this deal once Jean was free to join Jordan.

"Alain Prost and I are also very good friends and it is important to make clear that there is absolutely no animosity over the course of events which have lead to Jean joining Jordan."

Alesi will make his Jordan debut in Budapest next week, racing at the Hungaroring, a track he is known to dislike intensely. His problems with the track will be compounded by the fact that Formula One is currently enjoying a mandatory three-week break, which also means a complete ban on testing. Alesi, though, said he was not concerned about making his debut in Hungary in a car unfamiliar to him.

"I am overjoyed by this development in my career," he said. "Eddie launched me into Formula One, so to return to race for him after all this time is something very special.

Although I will not be able to test the car before racing in Hungary, I feel so motivated that I don't believe this will be a problem. I am very excited."

Alesi's move to Jordan was expected to signal a move the other way for Jordan tester Ricardo Zonta, who was handed a race seat at Hockenheim when Frentzen was fired.

However, almost simultaneous to yesterday's announcement from Jordan, Prost announced that it would not be taking Zonta from the Irish team but would instead be hiring the driver fired by Jordan - Frentzen.

"I am happy that Alain Prost offered me the drive for the last five Grands Prix," said Frentzen.

"It was very difficult to turn down the opportunity to tackle this new challenge and I am looking forward to supporting the team for the rest of the season."

Eddie Jordan confirmed that Zonta would now return to testing duties, which is a major setback for the Brazilian, who was hoping to secure a race drive with the Irish team for 2002.

Frentzen, meanwhile, will, like Alesi, have a baptism of fire with Prost in Hungary, having just Friday practice in Budapest to familiarise himself with the Prost AP03 and its Michelin tyres.

The German's chances of rapidly proving Jordan's decision management wrong will be slim, however. Despite finishing every race of the season in the increasingly reliable Prost, Alesi could only drag four points from the leaden APO3.

Eddie Jordan, meanwhile, will surely be looking at the six points the under-par Frentzen scored in the EJ11 this year and hoping that the fiery and passionate Alesi can give Jordan the edge it needs to re-establish its superiority over Honda rivals BAR in the constructors' championship.

Such is the confidence Jordan has in Alesi that he wouldn't rule out the possibility of the former Ferrari star racing for Jordan next year.

"What is important to see is how things go for both parties over the remaining races of 2001, and then we will talk about next year," said the team boss.