Minardi driver Jarno Trulli is set to join Emmanuel Collard in testing for the Prost Grand Prix team at Magny Cours later this week.
Olivier Panis, who was injured in the Canadian Grand Prix, is now not expected to make his return to F1 until the 1998 season and the team are looking for a replacement for the next 10 races.
Early on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Prost team said that Collard was starting tests for the team in their search for a driver, but the addition of Trulli seems to indicate they would like a driver with current experience. Although Collard is a former test driver for Williams, Benetton and Tyrrell, he has not driven a modern F1 car for some time.
The team also said that while both drivers would test this week, a decision on a replacement would not take place for "some time".
Shinji Nakano, Jarno Trulli and Emmanuel Collard will be testing a new specification Mugen-Honda engine for the Prost team at Magny-Cours this week, in preparation for the forthcoming French Grand Prix
Michael Schumacher used too many tyres during the last Grand Prix but the victory still stands because a form was not filled in properly. Schumacher used 31 tyres instead of 28.
Race officials have not filled in the tyre forms properly. But they do say they counted 31 tyres. Schumacher made one stop more than planned.