Irvine says Hill is `sad old man'

Damon Hill was branded "a sad old man" by Eddie Irvine after the former world champion's season hit a new low after spinning out of contention in Sunday's British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Irvine, who finished third behind Ferrari team-mate Michael Schumacher and McLaren's Mika Hakkinen, claimed former world champion Hill weaved across his path. "He has become a menace on the track. He is a sad old man who appears to be a bad loser," said Irvine.

"I had no trouble with any drivers until I got behind Hill. He was right back to his old tricks, weaving all over the place. He didn't know which side of the track he wanted.

"There's no point having a word with him, it should be up to the stewards to sort him out. The conditions were treacherous and he should have had common sense. I've got no time for Hill and he got his punishment when he went off."

Hill was also unimpressed with his performance, which leaves him still searching for his first championship point of the year. "I spun the car and then it stalled," he said. "I just lost it - it was pathetic."

Meanwhile, The FIA president, Max Mosley, has vigorously denied claims that Ferrari are being given preferential treatment.

The head of the sport's world governing body was reacting to paddock concern that Silverstone race stewards had given the Italian team an unfair advantage by not properly applying the stop-go penalty incurred by Michael Schumacher en route to his controversial victory.

"Anyone who looks at all the races this year would realise that there is no conspiracy," said Mosley. "Take the Canadian Grand Prix, where the race was stopped and restarted. You could say that Schumacher was disadvantaged on this occasion as he was second at the first start and then third at the second. But it is just not the case."

The McLaren team's appeal against the rejection of their protest on behalf of the runner-up Mika Hakkinen is yet to be heard. But already the conspiracy theorists, who claim that Ferrari are being spoon-fed the championship, have identified serious apparent inconsistencies in the timing of events on Sunday.

These critics say there are two key questions that demand answers. Why did it take more than half an hour for Ferrari to be informed of the 10-second penalty in the first place? And, crucially, why was the penalty at no stage displayed against Schumacher's name on the timing monitors - without which, in effect, it has no legal standing?