"Michael is blameless because his hands are tied just as much as Rubens’ are,” said Irvine in his column for The Sun newspaper. "Forget the millions that he is paid, the wins he has delivered – or his status within the team. He is just another employee who has to do as he is told. If he had gone against the team’s wishes that would have been anarchy – and Schumacher is a true professional and team player."

Irvine, who was Schumacher’s team-mate at Ferrari for four years, believes that Ross Brawn and Jean Todt are the ones who should shoulder any blame. "If the finger has to be pointed in any direction it must be at team boss Jean Todt and technical director Ross Brawn.Ross is a great guy but also a viciously ambitious person and nothing must get in the way of Ferrari winning the world championship. That is his brief and he wants to fulfil it.”