[JPMontoya]

A Versailles court on Monday put the Formula One team Prost Grand Prix (PGP) into formal liquidation.

The team's future had been in doubt ever since it went into receivership in November with reported debts of 27 million dollars (30.49 million euros).

An original decision had been expected on January 15 but talks between the court-appointed receiver and the judicial authorities ended inconclusively.

The liquidation of PGP will have surprised many, especially after a group of French investors were willing to pour 40 million dollars (44.65 million euros) into the outfit.

The team, based at Guyancourt in the western suburbs of Paris and which employs 200 people, had been founded on February 1997 following Alain Prost's glittering career as a driver which brought him four world titles.