D Friday, September 18, 2009 METROSPORT 25 Cheating, rule-breaking and sabotage its all fair in F1 Its a war, says Irvine Hill fears for future Heart of the controversy: Briatore quit Renault this week Picture: EPA THE scandal surrounding Renault and their former boss Flavio Briatore has been blown out of proportion, according to Eddie Irvine. Briatore and his deputy Pat Symonds resigned on Wednesday after accepting allegations they fixed last years Singapore Grand Prix. The two men were due to appear before the governing FIA in Paris on Monday to face charges they ordered Nelson Piquet to crash to help team-mate Fernando Alonso win. Renault still face punishment but Irvine, who drove for Jordan and Ferrari during a nine-year F1 career, is adamant cheating has always been a part of the sport. Formula One has always been a war and in war all is fair, he said. When I was in various teams you would do anything to win. Back in the day it was normal. This is probably slightly on the wrong side of the cheating thing but in days past every team has done whatever they could to win cheat, bend the rules, break the rules, sabotage opponents. This is just the FIA going on a crusade. And the Irishman is confident the FIA will not punish Renault too harshly if they are found guilty next week. Formula One cannot afford to lose more teams, he told the BBC. For me, it will be a massaged court where the fine will be reduced in order not to scare Renault away. There are several teams in the sport that are looking shaky and they cannot afford to kick Renault out of Formula One. The scandal is the latest to hit a sport beset by controversy over the past two years and another former driver, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, feels F1 needs to look at itself if it is to repair its damaged reputation. Its not a very good episode, said the British Racing Drivers Club president. There are clearly a lot of issues, and have been in the past, and it has a lot of soul searching to do. Its a huge sport and sometimes controversies actually add to the interest. But you want it to be for the right reasons. Hill insists he has never heard of a driver being asked to crash in a pre-meditated way as Piquet did. Its easy to get blase about crashing in Formula One, he added. They do everything they can to make drivers and spectators safe if there is an accident. But to deliberately have an accident, you are entering into the realms of the unknown. Nobody can predict what will happen. formula one First start: Hines rugby New boys pitched in against Ospreys New signings Nathan Hines and eoin Reddan have been handed their first starts for Leinster in tonights Magners League clash at Ospreys, writes Gareth Makim. Scotland lock Hines partners Malcolm OKelly in the second row as skipper Leo Cullen gets a rest, with openside flanker Shane Jennings leading the side in his absence as the european champions look to build on last weeks win over the Dragons. David Kearney, younger brother of Rob, retains his place in the back three alongside Isa Nacewa and Shane Horgan. And full-back Nacewa is expecting a fiercely competitive test against the Ospreys. He said: The Ospreys will prove to be a stiff test for us after having lost their last game at home to Ulster. They have a proud record at home and Im sure that theyll be determined to get back to winning ways, so well need to be focused and wary of them. Im definitely pleased with our form after the first two games. As a squad we felt that had we been a bit more clinical against the Scarlets in week one then we could have won that game and though the Dragons were tough opponents, we showed definite improvement last weekend. Friday night will be a tough task, but its one that we are going to have to meet head on. elsewhere, Stephen Ferris makes his return from the injury that cut short his Lions tour for Ulster against edinburgh. Ulster (v Edinburgh): C Scifcofske; T Nagusa, D Cave, I Whitten, S Danielli; I Humphreys, I Boss; B Young, A Kyriacou, B Botha; N McComb, E ODonoghue; S Ferris, W Faloon, Chris Henry. Leinster (v Ospreys): I Nacewa; S Horgan, G DArcy, S Berne, D Kearney; J Sexton, E Reddan; C Healy, J Fogarty, S Wright; N Hines, M OKelly; K McLaughlin, S Jennings (capt), S OBrien. PHILIP DEIGNAN ended Irelands 17-year wait for a Grand Tour stage win when he sprinted to victory in the Tour of Spain yesterday. The Cervelo rider outduelled Roman Kreuziger of the Czech Republic on the rain-soaked streets of Avila at the end of a very hilly 165km 18th stage of the Vuelta. Kreuziger and Deignan, who were part of a 16-rider break, went clear on a fast downhill section 13km from the finish before the Donegal man moved away to claim the second win of his five-year career and the first on a major tour since Stephen Roche in the 1992 Tour de France. I was really nervous, I really didnt think I could win it, Deignan, 26, said. Ive only been in that situation a couple of times in my career. I wasnt sure if it was possible for me to do so well, but this win is very important for my self-confidence. Its a big day for Irish cycling and I feel proud. Spains Alejandro Valverde kept the overall lead, 32 seconds ahead of Dutchman Robert Gesink with three days racing left. Vuelta glory for Deignan cycling tour of spain Winning ride: Irelands Philip Deignan of the Cervelo team leads Roman Kreuziger towards the finish line in Avila on the 18th stage of the Vuelta yesterday Picture: Reuters Claims: Irvine By ADAm HAy-nICHOLLs index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html