ALAIN Prost admitted yesterday that a mix-up in communications had

cost him the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The ex-Formula 1 champion, whose Williams car clearly is the fastest

on the circuit, won the opening race in South Africa last month. But

Prost spun off the track in the rain while leading on Sunday to hand

victory to arch-rival Ayrton Senna in a McLaren.

''I gave Senna a present,'' said the Frenchman. ''I made a silly

mistake. We need to improve our radio communication. I'm used to hearing

key words, not completed phrases.

''When they told me to stop for a tyre change, I did not understand. I

thought there was a problem about stopping in the pits, so I carried on,

and it was then that I had the crash.''

''I should have taken the decision to stop even if it had cost me 20

or 30 seconds.''

Senna, still keeping the world guessing because of his race-to-race

McLaren contract, leads the championship with 16 points to Prost's 10

before next week's European Grand Prix at Donington Park in England.