This was the last Formula One car to use Peugeot engines before the company withdrew from the sport. The engine technology itself however was bought by Asiatech and used for another two years, namely with Arrows in 2001 and with Minardi in 2002.
Season summary
The year proved to be a disaster for the team. The cars were slow and unreliable, with only 11 out of 34 classified finishes recorded across the season. The team's relationship with Peugeot fell apart and all of the sponsors departed at the end of the season. The team ended up scoring no points, and were classified last in the Constructors' Championship behind Minardi, due to the Italian team's better finishing record.[2] This meant that the team failed to receive any prize money for the season, and this, combined with the loss of their sponsors, plunged the team into serious financial trouble that would ultimately spell the beginning of the end for the outfit.
The problems became apparent during pre-season testing. Nick Heidfeld could not get a handle on the car and both drivers complained of inconsistent handling and lack of traction. Heidfeld also suffered the indignity of being disqualified after qualifying for the Nürburgring round after his car was found to be underweight and was not even allowed to take part in the race.[3] Technical Director Alan Jenkins was fired after the Monaco race.[4]
Prost blamed the apparently weak engine as the root cause of the AP03's uncompetitive performance. However, Peugeot retaliated with an uncharacteristic public revelation of the engine's output of 792 bhp, which was considered to be competitive at the time. Prost's criticism of Peugeot soured their relationship and combined with the lack of results, the latter withdrew from F1 as an engine supplier.[5]
Alesi and Heidfeld were unable to make much of an impression, but the Frenchman managed to qualify eighth at Monaco and run fourth at Spa-Francorchamps before retiring. A poor pitstop in France was caught by the TV cameras with a visibly distraught Alain Prost shaking his head in despair. The teammates also collided on more than one occasion, most notably in Austria.[6]
Livery
This was the final year for the team being sponsored by Gauloises. Prost used 'Gauloises' logos, except at the British and French Grands Prix; which was replaced with white dashes. Yahoo! joined as one of the team's new main sponsors along with other retaining sponsors; Agfa-Gevaert, Total S.A., Bic, PlayStation and Sodexho.
