During preseason testing for the 1996 Formula One season, Alain Prost briefly returned to the cockpit when McLaren invited him to evaluate the new MP4/11 as a potential replacement for Mika Hakkinen, who was recovering from his life threatening crash at Adelaide in late 1995. Prost’s test at Estoril placed a four time world champion inside a car still early in development, allowing the team to gather experienced feedback while assessing whether he might join as a full time driver. His presence i