Pedro Diniz
Prost's Jean Alesi was passed fit in the days leading up to the race. At the previous race, Alesi had suffered a serious crash which involved a collision with Sauber driver Pedro Diniz, although he escaped uninjured apart from abdominal pains and suffered from dizziness and vomiting. Prost had their test driver Stéphane Sarrazin ready to replace Alesi should the latter had suffered a relapse. Alesi said he felt ready to race again: "It took a few days before I really started to recover, but now I sleep and feel much better".