1996 was Ligier’s last year in Formula 1. For 1997 Alain Prost took over the team, which had already presented the Mugen-powered JS45. The Prost JS45, designed by Loic Bigois, had a completely new monocoque. The pilots were Olivier Panis and Shinji Nakano. After a good start to the season, Panis was injured in Canada and was replaced by Jarno Trulli, who had played the first seven GPs with Minardi. The Prost team finished sixth in the constructors' championship with 21 points, which could have been many without the accident of the top driver Panis, who in the first seven GPs had managed to get a fifth place in Australia, a third in Brazil. a quarter in Monte Carlo and even a second in Spain. Trulli's best result was a fourth place in Germany while Nakano was twice sixth (Canada and Hungary).