Ferrari needs new number two for Alonso - Prost

Alain Prost has tipped Ferrari to sign a new number two teammate for Fernando Alonso next year.

It is widely expected that struggling Felipe Massa will be ousted at the end of his 2012 contract.

"Ferrari is unique," four time world champion and former Ferrari driver Prost told Spanish AS newspaper in Monaco.

"A new teammate for Alonso is complicated because he is such a strong driver.

"For them I think it’s best not to have two top-level drivers together. I honestly don’t know if taking on a young driver or a more experienced one is best.

"But in any case they shouldn’t have two first-class drivers, because they already have a number one with Alonso," added the famous Frenchman.

Prost admitted he is a fan of Alonso’s.

"He is always there - always - and that is a characteristic of him. Sometimes his car is better, at other times less so, but he is always in the points, always there, never failing.

"In a championship like this, with so much equality, that is so important," he added.