Damon Hill is being linked with the team headed by former world champion Alain Prost as his Formula One future reaches make-or-break time. Prost, a former Williams team-mate of Hill, is ready to sign the current drivers' champion if the price is right.
"I want the best driver possible on condition that he is not too expensive. I have my budget and I am sticking to it," Prost said yesterday.
The duo are expected to hold talks this week with Hill's asking price likely to be the crucial factor.
Hill revealed in Belgium last weekend that he had turned down an offer of £13 million over two years from Sauber and a £1.3 million basic fee and £650,000 win bonus from McLaren.
The Arrows driver was immediately linked with Jordan, but team chief Eddie Jordan said on Tuesday that their accent on youth meant they would be keeping Giancarlo Fisichella and Ralf Schumacher next season.
Jordan is confident he can win his contract tussle with Benetton over Fisichella who underlined his potential with second place to Michael Schumacher in last Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.
Prost was impressed with Hill's ability when they were team-mates at Williams in 1993, the year the Frenchman retired after winning the championship for the fourth time.
Despite agreeing an engine supply deal with Peugeot starting next season and signing Olivier Panis for two more years, Prost said recently that his would not be an all-French team.
An Anglo-French driving alliance of Hill and Panis, currently recuperating after breaking his legs in Canada last June, would be an attractive proposition.
Meanwhile, 16,000 Ferrari fans turned up to watch Michael Schumacher in practice in Monza yesterday but it was his younger brother Ralf who set the pace.
The Jordan driver was the only man to dip below one minute 24 seconds all day, clocking a best lap of 1:23.885 as Formula One's top teams prepare for next week's Italian Grand Prix here.
Fellow German Heinz Harald Frentzen was second fastest in the Williams-Renault (1:24.571), with Austrian veteran Gerhard Berger, the winner at Hockenheim, third fastest in a Benetton (1:24.591).
