Formula One news

Don't scare off Renault, Irvine advises

The ever-lively Eddie Irvine is the latest in a long line of pundits and former drivers to voice his opinion on the Renault/Piquet 'Crashgate' saga. It would appear that Irvine is of the opinion that such tactics were common place during his career in Formula One.

Ulsterman Irvine won four times for Ferrari during the 1999 campaign

"All's fair in love and war - F1 is definitely a war on the track," the Irishman told the BBC's Radio 5 Live. "When I competed with various teams, you would do anything to win. It was totally normal."

Accepting that this particular incident is a drastic example of team tactics, Irvine continued: "This case is probably on the wrong side of the boundaries of acceptability but in past times any team would do whatever they could to win! Cheat, bend the rules, break the rules, sabotage others…"

Having retired at the end of the 2002 season, the 1999 runner-up looks past the upcoming hearing, which has most of the media focus, and predicts a possible outcome. "Formula One cannot afford to lose more teams," he continued, hinting at the withdrawal of BMW and the uncertain futures of Toyota and Renault. "There are a few teams in the sport that are looking shaky and F1 can't afford to scare off Renault."

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